▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

"So if anyone asks..we were just.." (Y/N) and Hiccup make their way back to the Village, the boy slightly shaking due to the events that had unfolded.

"Frolicking through the woods?" Hiccup finishes, his friend nodding at him and continuing forward. "No one will suspect a thing."

They make it to (Y/N)'s house, stopping only a few feet away from the door. Hiccup turns to the girl, raising and eyebrow as she she looks down and sighs. "Astrid's gonna kill me.." she laughs, shaking her head before looking up at Hiccup.

"...oh, yeah." The boy replies sheepishly, rubbing the nape of his neck. "She's never really been a fan of me..has she?"

(Y/N) laughs, walking closer to him and placing both of her hands on his shoulder, looking at him with sympathy and slight amusement.

"Don't worryy!" She laughs, shaking him slightly as he chuckles along.

"Besides.." her laughter dies down and she stares into his eyes, a gentle smile painting her lips.

Hiccup feels heat crawl up his neck and to his ears, trying to maintain eye contact. "I think your pretty great." (Y/N) whispers, leaning closer to him, her smile turning into a smirk.

Hiccup's eyes widen, he swallows harshly, looking down before releasing a nervous chuckle. "T-thank you.." he stutters, his hands shake at their closeness, glancing down to her lips every few seconds.

"Welp!" (Y/N) jerks her head away, laughing and patting Hiccup's shoulders. "Best get going!" The boy nods numbly, he doesn't say a word as he watches her enter the house.

"Get some rest!" She calls, nodding at him before closing her door completely. Hiccup sighs dreamily, turning and walking home with a lopsided grin.

"She thinks I'm great!" He mumbles, pumping a fist in the air as he continues the path home.

...

He makes it home, opening the door and shutting it as quietly as he could. He catches sight of his father, bending down infront of the fire place and poking it every few minutes.

Hiccup carefully makes his way towards the stairs, tiptoeing up as quietly as he could. He made it half way before his father spoke up.

"Hiccup.." Stoick mumbles, turning his head slightly towards his son. Hiccup tenses, sighing before making his way down the stairs to stand infront of the Chief.

"Dad! Uh..I have to talk to you, dad."He stammers, making his way towards his father. Stoick turns, looking down at his son with a sigh. "I need to speak with you to son.."

Both men stand there, the atmosphere slightly tense. They take a deep breath and speak at the same time.

"I think it's time you learn to fight dragons.."

"I don't want to fight dragons.."

They look at each other in surprise, "What?" They speak at the same time again. Stoick clears his throat, gesturing towards his son.

"Uh..you go first.." Hiccup shakes his head with a sigh. "No..uh, you go.." his father nods, rolling his shoulders as he prepares to speak.

"All right.." he nods, clasping his hands together. "You get your wish. Dragon training with (Y/N) and the others. You start in the morning."

Hiccup feels his breath hitch, he looks up at his dad, wincing as he sucks in a breath. "Oh, man, I should have gone first."

Stoick looks to his son with a raised brow, waiting for him to elaborate. "Cause I was thinking.." Hiccup starts again. "..you know..we have a surplus of dragon fighting Vikings..but do we have.." he wracks his brain for examples, trying to prove a point.

"..bread making Viking? Or..o-or small home..repair-" he's cut of by his fathers voice.

"You'll need this.." Stoick starts, waving a hand infront of his son. "And you'll get to spend more time with (Y/N)!" He tries, sending his son a grin.

Hiccup laughs nervously, shaking his head "It's not that..I just don't want to fight a dragon.." he mumbles, averting his attention to the ground.

His father laughs, shaking his head, "Oh of course you do!" Hiccup, again shakes his head at his father.

"Let me rephrase..I can't kill a dragon.." Stoick interrupts him again. "But you will kill dragon." He says firmly, his happy demeanor slipping away.

"N-No, I'm really very extra-sure that I won't." Hiccup stammers out, shaking his head. "It's time, Hiccup." Stoick starts, walking forwards. "Can you not hear me?!" Hiccup frantically questions as his father approaches.

"This is serious, son." Stoick addresses. Hiccup looks away, sighing softly as his father sets a hand in his shoulder.

He moves away, grabbing an axe and handing it to his son. "When you carry this axe.." he starts, his voice soft yet firm. "You carry all of us with you, which means you walk like us." He straightens his shoulders,

"You talk like us.." he then points to his head. "You think like us, no more.." He pauses before gesturing to Hiccup.

"..This"

Hiccup sighs, gripping the axe as he mumbles. "You just gestured to all of me.." his father ignores him as he looks at his son, his head tilted to the side.

"Deal?" He asks, nodding his head. Hiccup looks up at his father, "This conversation is feeling very one-sided.." he rolls his eyes.

Stoick glares at his son, his voice rising. "DEAL?!" Hiccup dosnet flinch, only looking down with a frustrated sigh. "Deal.." he gives in, his father smiling as he pats his head.

Stoick grabs a bag, filled with his belongings, and swings it over his shoulder. "Good, train hard." He states, nodding his head, he grabs his helmet and setting it on his head. "I'll be back..probably."

"And I'll be here..maybe." Hiccup mumbles, rolling his eyes and making his way upstairs. "Oh and.." Stoick's voice calls, his son turning around to face him. "Since (F/N) will be with us, (Y/N) will be staying here until he returns."

This causes Hiccup's eyes to widen, he bites back a smile, suddenly feeling giddy. "O-okay then! Sure!" He beams, running up the stairs and to his room.

...

The next day

"Welcome to dragon training!" Gobber calls, his arms open as he gestures to the giant arena. Astrid walks in first, sighing as the others follow behind. "No turning back.." the teens all look around in awe, taking in the giant area.

"I hope I get some serious burns." Tuffnut grins as he fist bumps the air. "I'm hoping for some mauling!" Ruffnut shrugs as she walks forward.

"Like on my shoulder or lower back." She says quickly. "Yeah."Astrid agrees, shrugging. "It's only fun if you get a scar out of it."

"Seriously Hofferson?" A voice calls out, all teens turning to see (Y/N) walking forward with a smirk, a confident stride in her walk.

"You think getting mauled by a dragon is cool?"

Astrid grins, grabbing her friends hand and pulling her into a hug. "Heard you went missing the other day, care to explain?" She pulls out of the hug, (Y/N) shrugging her shoulders with a sly smile. "Not really."

Suddenly Ruffnut groans, "Who let him in?" She points to the entrance, Hiccup walking in with a nervous look. (Y/N) walks to him and gives him a hug, much to his surprise and everyone else's annoyance.

"Heard I'm staying with you for a few weeks, sounds fun." She laughs, Hiccup nodding with chuckle. "Yeah.."

"Let's get started!" Giobber finally yells, everyone's attention now on him. "The recruit that does best will have the honor of killing.." he jerks his arm, emphasizing his point. "His-!" (Y/N) suddenly cuts him off.

"Or her!" She yells, Astrid and the others snickering while Hiccup chuckles. "Yes! Thank you Ms (L/N)!" Gobber calls with annoyance. "Will have the honor of killing his or her first dragon infront of the entire village!"

"Hiccup already killed a Night Fury, so does that disqualify him, or..?" Snotlout questions, making the others laugh.

(Y/N) rolls her eyes, she walks over and hits him at the back of his head with her sword, the boy doubling over in pain as he clutches his head. Hiccup looks to his friend with a small smile, nodding to her in thanks.

"Don't worry!" Gobber turns to Hiccup, setting a hand on his shoulder. "You're small and weak, that'll make you less of a target!" He pats Hiccups shoulder, the boy rolling his eyes at the man's "advice."

"They'll see you as sick or insane and go after the more Viking-like teens instead." The man chuckles, nodding his head before walking away.

"Oh great.." Hiccup mumbles, shaking his head as he walks over to (Y/N). She looks to him and smiles, giving him a thumbs up before facing forward.

"Behind these doors are just a few of the many species you will learn to fight."Gobber yells to the kids as he walks along the rattling gates.

"The Deadly Nadder."

"Speed 8, armor 16.." Fishlegs mumbles, making both (Y/N) and Hiccup look over at him. Gobber ignores the boy as he continues, gesturing towards the cages.

"The Hideous Zippleback."

"Plus 11 stealth times 2.."

"The Monstrous Nightmare."

"Firepower 15.."

"The Terrible Terror-"

"Attack 8, venom 12!"

"Will you stop that?!" Gobber finally yells, clearly frustrated with the boy. The others snicker, Hiccup shaking his head as he waits for the man to continue his explanation "And..the Gronckle."

"..Jaw strength 8." Fishlegs whispers to (Y /N), causing her to roll her eyes with a chuckle.

"Woah, woah, wait! Aren't you gonna teach us, first?" Snotlout demands as he watches Gobber walk over to a cage. "I believe..in learning on the job."

Gobber grins as he releases the latch, the Gronckle bursting through a moment later. "Today is about survival!" He yells with a laugh, watching the teens run around.

Everyone goes their separate ways, Hiccup staying close to (Y/N) as they move to the back of a wall. "If you get blasted, your dead! Quick, what's the first thing you'll need?" Gobber yells yells, looking around at his students.

"A doctor?!" Hiccup calls, (Y/N) snickering at his answer. She looks around, making eye-contact with Astrid, the two look towards a display full of swords and shields, looking back they nod, making their way towards it.

"Plus 5 speed?!" Fishlegs calls, Gobber shaking his head "no." "A shield!" Both (Y/N) and Astrid yell correctly, Hiccup following closely behind.

"Shields, go!" Gobber nods, "Seems like Astrid and (Y/N) are already ahead of you!" The rest of the teens curse, quickly running towards the shields.

"Your most important piece of equipment is your shield!" Gobber continues as he walks towards Hiccup and (Y/N).

The girl was slightly guarding Hiccup as he struggled to correctly grab the shield. "Hurry up stick!" She calls, Hiccup trying to tug the shield off its hanger. "I'm trying!"

"If you must choose between a sword or a shield.." Gobber yanks the shield up, shoving it to Hiccup and pushing him away, (Y/N) following. "Take the shield!"

...

"Get your hands off my shield!" Tuffnut shouts, both him and his sister grabbing the same one.
"There's, like a million shields!" His sister snaps back, yanking it towards her.

"Take that one! It has flowers. Girls like flowers." Ruffnut yanks the shield from his grip, slamming it on his head, her brother falls to the ground with a groan.

"Oops. Now this one has blood on it!"

Both continue to fight, yelping as the Gronckle fires a blast between them. "Ruff, Tuff, you're out!"Gobber shouts. The twins look to him in annoyance, their fists shaking. "What!?" Gobber ignores them and moves on.

"Those shields are good for another thing.
Noise!" He instructs, "Make lots of it!"
Astrid nods, pulling (Y/N) along as they both begin to make noise, slamming their weapons against their shields.

The others quickly follow along. "It throws off a dragon's aim." The Gronckle shakes his head, swaying slightly as it's vision becomes blurry. It looks between the teens, it's sight finally setting on Astrid.

"All dragons have a limited number of shots,
how many does a Gronckle have?"
(Y/N) dives out of the way as the Gronckle spins its body around, nearly slamming into her. She tuck and rolls, landing a little ways off.

"Seven!" Fishlegs calls, Gobber nodding at him and giving him a thumbs up. "Correct, seven! That's one for each of you!" He laughs, watching Fishlegs duck out if the way.

The boy yells as a shot was fired near his head, he runs the opposite direction, Gobber raising his hand and yelling, "Fishlegs! Out!" The boy dosnet respond to him, only nodding as he runs away.

"Hiccup, get in there!"Gobber yells, Hiccup yelping as a blast was fired near him before he hides once more.

Astrid rolls out of the way, landing near (Y/N). Both girls pant from exhaustion, nodding to eachother as they hold up their shields. "You gonna tell me where you were last night?" The Hofferson questions, her friend shaking her head.

"Now's not really the time Astrid!" She yells, ducking under the Gronckles tail. Astrid shakes her head as she watches her friend leave with sad eyes.

Sure she might be nagging a bit, but how would you feel if your closest friend suddenly vanished without a trace, then just showed up the next morning like it was nothing? You'd be pretty freaked out.

Astrid may not look it, but she cares for the people she loves, (Y/N) especially. She just couldn't understand why she hung out with Hiccup, I mean come on! The kids a weirdo!

She's cut out of her thoughts as Snotlout jumps next to her, flashing a cocky smirk. "So..I moved into my parents' basement. You should come by sometime to work out!" he brags, watching as she somersaults away.

"You look like you work out!" He calls after her, yelping as a blast send his shield out of his hand and to the floor. "Snotlout! You're out!" Gobber calls, the boy sulking and walking away.

Astrid lands near Hiccup and (Y/N), making him nervously look between the two as Astrid tries to meet (Y/N)'s eyes, but the girl simply ignores her, keeping her eye on the Gronckle.

"Looks like it's..you and us.."he nervously laughs, Astrid rolling her eyes and jumping to the side. "Nope, just you.."

A blast strikes the two, making them fly back. Hiccup breaths heavily, he gets up, tripping a bit due to the exhaustion. "One shot left!" Gobber calls, Hiccup yells as the Gronckle flies towards him, it's mouth open as it roars.

"Hiccup!" (Y/N) yells, grabbing her shield and running towards him. Gobber takes notice and gasps, running to their aid.

Hiccup presses his back against the wall, his eyes wide with fear as he looks towards the approaching dragon. The Gronckle hovers above him, it's mouth pulled into a snarl.

It jumps as (Y/N) moves infront of Hiccup, her back to his chest as she raises her shield. The boy gasps, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face into her back.

The Gronckle opens its mouth, it's throat lighting up. The two shut their eyes, preparing for the shot. It fires, but it never came, the blast ended up only a few inches from their heads, causing them to flinch harshly.

A few sparks land on (Y/N)'s cheek, she whimpers slightly, biting her tongue to stop any noise form coming out.

"That's..seven!" Gobber calls, his hand hooked in the dragons mouth as he pulled it away from the two. "Go back to bed you overgrown sausage!" He yells, tossing it back into its cage and locking it.

He sighs, bringing his hand down and rubbing his temple. "You'll get another chance, don't you worry.."

The rest of the group make their way over to Gobber as the man walks towards Hiccup and (Y/N). The (H/C) girl drops her shield and slumps forward, to tired to move.

Hiccup quickly catches her, the two slowly sink to the floor, both panting and breathless. Gobber looks down at them with a frown, "Remember, a dragon will always.." he leans down to the two with a firm stare, "..always, go for the kill."

He was a about to move but stops, noticing the red blotches forming on (Y/N)'s cheek. "Get her to the infirmary.." he mumbles, helping her up and stabling her. Astrid rushes over, looking at the girl with concern filling her eyes.

She drapes (Y/N)'s arm over her and helps her walk, whispering soothing words as she does. (Y/N) shakes her off with a scoff, avoiding the girls hurt expression and turning towards Hiccup with a small smile, her cheek aching as it pulls.

"I'll see you later alright?" She asks, receiving a small nod from her friend, she turns around and makes her way out the arena, Astrid hot on her heels. Hiccup sighs in defeat, shaking his head as he begins to walk away, his shield discarded.

...

"Enough Astrid!" (Y/N) yells, frustrated with her friend, the Hofferson merely scoffs, rolling her eyes as she makes her way infront of her friend.

(Y/N) stops, bringing her hands to her face and groaning. "I'm just trying to look out for you! That's all!" Astrid tries to reason, her voice raised in desperation.

The (E/C) girl glares, her eyes sharp as her lips pull into a snarl. "I'm not an infant! Just back off!" She cries, waving her hand to emphasize her point.

She pushes past Astrid and continues her way towards the infirmary. "So that's it?! Your just gonna replace me with that troll?!" (Y/N) stops, her eyes widening in surprise as she turns to stare at her friend.

"..what?" She whispers, her voice soft and trembling. Astrid looks down, small tears pricking at her eyes. "I just.." a sob cuts her off, her shoulders shaking.

"Ever since y-you started hanging out with him it's just.." she sighs, her sobs slowly reducing to sniffing. "You've forgotten about me.." she finally admits, her head hung low.

"Astrid.." (Y/N) speaks softly, taking a step forward with her arm outstretched. The Hofferson shakes her head with a sigh. "Forget it.." she turns to leave, taking quick strides back to the arena to fetch her axe.

"Astrid wait!" (Y/N) calls, wincing as she clutches her stinging cheek with a grunt. She watches her friend leave, a tear falling from her face.

She messed up..big time.

——