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❛ ғɪʀᴇ & ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ʟᴇᴀᴅ ʙʏ ᴇxᴀᴍᴘʟᴇ ꒱


❝ OH-MY-GOSH
THAT'S SO CUTE! ❞

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"Hey."

Dany looked up from where she was adjusting the fletching on the arrow she was working on. A stack of them sat by her side, all ready for their final touches. While it would certainly be easier to just import arrows in from Berk, she enjoyed the process of making them. Plus, with their brewing war with Viggo, she didn't think it was wise to make the long trip back so many times; as part of her own preparations, she felt better knowing she could make them any time she was running low, so practice was in order. "Hey."

She smiled up at Hiccup, feeling the usual burst of warmth in her chest that came from being near him. She was more acutely aware of it now than she had been before, thanks to their fight. The Targaryen patted the empty spot on the porch next to her, inviting her best friend to sit down. He did so, sitting closer than strictly necessary so that her arm brushed his whenever she moved it to work on her arrow. Dany kept her head bent over her project, doing her best to hide her fluster. She could feel Hiccup watching her with interest, which wasn't helping.

"So. . . I have a favor to ask," he began hesitantly, knowing the request probably wouldn't be her favorite thing in the world.

Not moving her eyes away from her work, Dany stated easily, "yeah, anything."

For a moment, Hiccup just blinked at her, momentarily thrown off by how quick she'd been to agree. He hadn't even mentioned what he needed yet, and her immediate trust— her willingness— knocked the air out of him. His chest tightened with the stubborn, overwhelming fondness he had for her.

He cleared his throat, shifting slightly, trying to recover. "Uh— you do realize I haven't even told you what I wanted you to do yet, right?"

Dany shrugged, finally glancing over at him. Her expression was calm, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Doesn't matter. You're my best friend. And our leader. I'd do anything you asked me to."

That stopped him cold again. His mouth opened, then shut, before he could force his brain to catch up. She said it so casually, as though it didn't mean everything. Hiccup could only stare for a moment, his pulse hammering in his ears. He had to look away before she noticed the flush creeping up his neck.

"Right. Well. Uh. . ." He rubbed the back of his neck, pushing forward before he lost his nerve. "Astrid and I need to go do some recon. Normally I'd bring you along, but—"

"—Drogon's not exactly a stealth dragon. I know." She finished for him with a small, wry smile, setting the arrow aside and meeting his eyes fully now.

The knot in his stomach loosened in relief. He hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings, not after everything that had gotten them here, but she understood. Of course she did. She always did.

"Exactly," Hiccup confirmed, a small smile tugging at his lips. "So. . . I was hoping you could help Fishlegs wrangle the twins and Snotlout while we're gone."

To his surprise, Dany didn't even grimace at the idea. No groaning, no rolling her eyes, no mock complaints about her impending headache. She just nodded. "Sure."

He blinked again. "Wait. Really? You're okay with that?"

Her shoulders lifted in another shrug. "I understand them better now. Doesn't mean they're not a handful— I can only take them in small doses— but. . . I get them. Sort of."

Hiccup studied her, genuinely impressed. It wasn't that long ago that the very thought of being left alone with Ruffnut and Tuffnut would've had her fleeing in the opposite direction. But. . . she had grown. He could see it now, more obviously since he hadn't spent every day with her— it made it more noticeable.

A quiet smile softened his features, the admiration clear in his eyes. "You've changed a lot, you know that?"

Dany snorted lightly, brushing it off like it was nothing. "Not that much, I don't think."

"Enough that I can tell," he pointed out. "Anyway. . . thanks. I'll feel better about leaving knowing Dragon's Edge will still be intact when we get back."

🏹🏹🏹

That was how Daenerys found herself distracted from her patrol duties a few days later as the island was rocked by one explosion after another. Drogon had sensed the tremors first, shifting direction unexpectedly in their route seconds before the plume of smoke emanated from the general direction of their camp. One quick look told her that there were no enemy ships in the harbor, so that meant there was only one other cause. She groaned and leaned forward as far as the spikes on her dragon's back would allow, resting her forehead on the smooth spine.

"I put Fishlegs on twin duty while we were out," she grumbled to herself. "I can't babysit them all day, but apparently that's what I have to do."

They turned back towards home, the return trip feeling even longer as Dany dreaded what she would find. The twins, Snotlout and Fishlegs were gathered in front of the clubhouse. The former three were cackling at whatever antics had created the explosion while Fishlegs swiped a bottle from Snotlout's hands. She joined them as Fishlegs scolded the group, "Monstrous Nightmare gel is not to be toyed with, it's for defending the Edge."

"Uh, hel-lo?" Snotlout deadpanned. "My dragon makes it." He gestured proudly towards Hookfang, who let out a self-satisfied snort and ignited his body to prove his rider's words. "Besides, who put you in charge?"

"Dany," Fishlegs declared immediately.

"And Hiccup put me in charge," Daenerys finished, causing everyone's attention to turn towards her.

"Oh, perfect!" Ruffnut exclaimed. "Finally— someone who gets us! Dany, tell Fishlegs to stop freaking out. We were just having a little fun."

Dany crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes at the mess in front of her. The acrid stench of burned wood and smoke still clung to the air and the scorch marks across the ground were fresh enough to still be smoldering. She fixed Ruffnut with a flat stare. "If by fun you mean risking setting half the island on fire and compromising our defenses in the process, then sure. Loads of fun."

Ruffnut blinked, her grin faltering. "Wait, wait, wait. I thought you were cool. You know, not uptight like Hiccup."

"Oh, I get real uptight when it comes to making sure we have enough defenses so my friends can survive whatever attacks us out here," she retorted.

"Hey, now you're starting to sound like Astrid," the older Thorston complained. "If you're not with us, then you're against us and we'll treat you just like we treat Fish-face over here."

While they'd been talking, Fishlegs had landed Meatlug on the wooden walkway and dismounted— not his brightest idea, in Dany's opinion. Snotlout took the opportunity to snatch the bottle of Monstrous Nightmare gel out of his hands. "Yeah, yeah. C'mon, babe. We all know Hiccup only put you in charge because you're his favorite." He drawled out the word tauntingly. "Why else would he give you the position?"

Dany pressed her lips into a thin line, unamused by the challenge or the resulting laughter from everyone except for Fishlegs. (Though, as much as she didn't want to admit it, a small part of her was affected by his words. Really, what leadership potential did she actually have? Maybe she hadn't actually earned the role. . .) She didn't let any of her thoughts show on her face or in her voice as she stated flatly, "I have a big-ass dragon and I'm not afraid to use him."

That brought their laughter to a halt only for a moment before it started up again, even wilder than before. "Oh, Dany, Dany, Dany. We all know Hiccup's got you got you wrapped around his little finger." Snotlout shook the bottle in front of her obnoxiously. "You'd never actually sic Drogon on us. You're too scared of upsetting him."

She hated that they were right. When it became clear that she wasn't going to respond, Fishlegs tried to help out by lunging for the bottle. "Give that to me!"

Snotlout easily evaded him, throwing it up in the air to start a game of keep-away with the twins. Unfortunately, Fishlegs grew discouraged quickly. When it returned to the shorter man's hands, he wiggled his fingers mockingly as Fishlegs slumped off, defeated. "Buh-bye! Okay, now where were we?"

Dany watched Fishlegs go, feeling a bit betrayed by how easily he rolled over for the trio. A part of her wanted to go after him and insist that they could take control of the situation if they worked together, but she knew it was unwise to leave the twins and Snotlout unattended with Monstrous Nightmare gel in their hands. So, allowing her growing irritation to show on her face, she returned her attention to them as Tuffnut was saying, "we were gonna blow up your house!"

They ignored Snotlout's protests and turned to do just that, only to be met with Daenerys' disapproving frown. She had landed Drogon and climbed down to plant herself in the middle of the pathway, cutting off their escape. She stood in front of them with her arms crossed and a glint in her violet eyes that even the twins found slightly unsettling. When she spoke, her words were quiet, but no less threatening: "do you really think I won't use Drogon to keep you guys in line? Well, try me."

Their eyes flicked upward in time to see Drogon exhale the smallest lick of flame he could. It shot low over their heads, close enough that they could feel its scorching heat. She uncrossed her arms and held out her hand. "The Monstrous Nightmare gel. Now."

Snotlout grumbled as he shoved it furiously into her palm. The twins scowled at her, displeased by the disruption to their plans for the day. Dany patted Drogon appreciatively, then turned back to the trio with a normal expression on her face. Smiling cheerfully at them, she continued, "now, I'm not saying you can't blow stuff up, you just can't use a precious resource. Why don't you set fire to your yak? I'll watch."

Tuffnut blinked, shaking his head in disbelief. "I never thought someone could make blowing stuff up boring, but now I don't even want to do that anymore."

Ruffnut scowled, crossing her arms. "I hope you're proud of yourself, Dany. Now we can't even enjoy our favorite pastime. Blowing stuff up with permission isn't even worth it."

Dany clutched the bottled Monstrous Nightmare gel as she watched them go, feeling guilty despite knowing she did the right thing.

🏹🏹🏹

She spent the rest of the day running around putting out (literal) fires as the twins and Snotlout seemed to be trying to get revenge on her spoiling their afternoon everywhere she went. She kept wishing Fishlegs would come back and help her keep them in line, but he was nowhere to be found. When Hiccup and Astrid returned to Dragon's Edge later that day, they found the place a mess, but not in as bad of shape as it could've been.

"Whoa, what happened to you?" Astrid wanted to know as they were greeted by an exhausted Dany. The Targaryen's normally neat braids were coming undone, her hair frizzy around her head. Her face and clothes were smudged with dirt and she had to lean against Drogon to stay upright, her eyes half-closed.

Hiccup took one look at the devastation and— "wait, where's Fishlegs?"

"He left," Dany mumbled, not liking the fact that she was throwing her friend under the bus but felt the need to be truthful after having to handle the twins by herself all day.

"What?"

"Hiccup! Dany! You're not going to believe this!" Fishlegs had decided to return at that moment, beaming and completely oblivious to the camp's change in mood. He waved from Meatlug's back as he flew in, jumping off as soon as he could.

"Yeah, no kidding. I can't believe any of this," Hiccup shot back. "I counted on you, Fishlegs. You were supposed to help her keep them in line." He gestured to the mess that surrounded them. "Did you know this was going on?"

The other teen's cheerful expression faltered. "Well, yes, I guess," he confessed. "Sort of."

"And?"

Fishlegs' brows furrowed, confused by his friend's anger. "And. . . what?"

"And they didn't!" he exclaimed angrily. "Which means you left Dany here to handle everything by herself! Everyone's supposed to be a team player, especially when they're put in charge! We can't afford someone skipping out just because things get hard. We're on our own out here. Okay? This kind of stuff can't happen. Not with Viggo out there."

"Well, it could've been worse," Dany offered weakly. "They could've also gone through our entire supply of Monstrous Nightmare gel, but I was able to put a stop to that."

Hiccup wasn't much appeased by this. He shot Fishlegs an accusatory look. "And did you do anything to help her? Or was that after you left?"

Fishlegs shrank in the face of his friend's displeasure. "I'm sorry, Hiccup. I tried to help Dany get them to stop but you know how the twins and Snotlout can be."

"Yes, I do. But you're better than that. It's just. . . disappointing." Finished with what he had to say to Fishlegs, Hiccup turned his back on him and went over to place a comforting hand on Dany's shoulder. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

She blushed. "I'm not that tired—"

"You look like you're about to fall asleep on your feet," he countered, though in a lighter tone than he'd used to address Fishlegs with. "Anyone who deals with the twins by themselves for the whole day should get to rest."

🏹🏹🏹

Sometime later, Dany wandered over to Hiccup's hut where, after she knocked, entered to find him staring pensively at the map they'd set up with the Maces and Talons pieces as symbols of Viggo's forces. As she pulled a chair over to sit next to him, she noticed his serious expression— the stress she saw on his face almost every day now— and tried to lighten his mood by sing-songing playfully, "what'cha doin'?"

"You're supposed to be resting," he chided her.

"I did rest— as much as I can these days, anyway. It's several hours later, actually," the blonde corrected him with a note of haughtiness in her tone. "Have you been staring at that board the whole time?" When he gave her a grimace in reply, she continued, "I guess your recon with Astrid didn't go well?"

"We didn't learn anything," the brunet answered dismally. "None of his ships are even travelling in the same direction. There's no rhyme or reason for us to figure out what he's plotting next."

Dany leaned closer, comfortably oblivious to the way the movement made her invade Hiccup's personal space so that he felt her normal-than-warmer body heat press against him. She was too absorbed in the board to hear his breath hitch at her shift. She didn't see the way he became distracted by the sight of the loose ends of her silvery-blonde hair draping over her shoulder to brush against his leg.

"You know. . ." Dany murmured, tilting her head toward the map, "if he's really trying to obscure his strategy, he could be. . . doubling back. He could keep his ships circling between islands until we're running ourselves ragged trying to guess. That could be why they all look like they're going different directions, when really they aren't going anywhere at all."

She turned her head to glance at him for confirmation— only to find her movement had brought her far closer to him than she'd realized. Not quite close enough where his lips were directly in her line of sight, but more in the way that caused their eyes to meet unexpectedly. Her eyes widened, caught off guard by his sudden nearness. For a moment, neither of them breathed.

Dany's stomach fluttered, her composure faltering as the warmth of his gaze. She'd never told him how glad she'd been when she'd come back to Berk to find that he'd gotten rid of that horrible (but somehow still made it cute) bowl-cut hairstyle to find that he'd let his hair grow long enough to just barely hang in his eyes— like it was doing now— and drove her crazy in a different way. But then his brow furrowed. He noticed— like he always seemed to— her hesitation, the flicker of unease in her expression. The shift in his focus broke the moment.

"Dany?" he prompted her, voice low enough to almost blend with the crackle of the fire behind them. "What's wrong?"

She blinked, pulling back just slightly to collect herself, fingers tightening on the edge of the table. It took her a few seconds before she trusted her voice. ". . .It's nothing. Just—" She drew in a breath and forced herself to meet his eyes again. "—I keep thinking about this morning. With Fishlegs."

The guilty downturn of Hiccup's expression was immediate. His gaze dropped to the carved pieces on the map, jaw tensing. "Yeah," he admitted, almost under his breath. "I've been thinking about it too." He swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I. . . might've been too hard on him. It just—" His eyes flicked to hers again, sheepish. "He left you on your own— which is not what I had in mind when I asked you to run the camp while I was gone— and I lost my temper. But you didn't seem that bothered. So. . . do you think I overreacted?"

"I didn't say that," she replied.

"So. . . I didn't overreact?"

"I didn't say that, either."

He groaned at her cryptic answers. "What are you saying, then?"

She shrugged. "I mean yeah, it sucked that Fishlegs bailed on me, but it's not entirely his fault. He's not the bravest person ever, especially when dealing with the full force of the chaos trio. Besides, he hasn't had as much experience with them as I've— or you've— had— and that's not to say I have a lot of experience, either— you saw how they turned the camp upside-down with me in charge, and it only wasn't worse because I instilled the fear of Drogon in them."

"I would've liked to see that," he remarked with a small chuckle, but it faded quickly. He leaned his elbows on the table, rubbing his forehead with his hand. "Still. I shouldn't have unloaded on Fishlegs like that. He's. . . well, he's like you said— he's not built for standing his ground. And I know that." His voice dropped. "But the thought of you getting stuck dealing with everything by yourself. . ."

"Hiccup," Daenerys began slowly, "why do you leave me in charge all the time?"

He glanced over at her, his brows furrowing with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, whenever you do have to leave for something and I can't come with you, I'm usually the de facto leader. Even when Astrid stays behind, too, you still usually put me in charge," she explained.

He winced, feeling the back of his neck heat up with an embarrassed flush that she'd finally caught on. "Figured that out, have you?"

"Not on my own," she confessed. "It's just. . . something Snotlout said— and I know I should take his words with a grain of salt— but he said that the only reason why you choose me is because, uh—"

She trailed off, feeling her own unease, which was silly, really. Everyone— literally everyone, including herself and Hiccup— had addressed, at some point, that Hiccup (for some reason) had a soft spot for her. She really shouldn't feel so uncomfortable talking about it! But, here she was, stumbling over her words. "I'm your favorite," she rushed out, the words all bunched together in a way that made Hiccup pause for a moment to process them correctly. More clearly, she finished, "and. . . I just wanted to know if that was true, or if I actually did. . . earn it."

Hiccup's expression softened as she stammered out her question. Her gaze had dropped down to her lap where her fingers fiddled with a loose piece of her hair. He understood better than anyone why she doubted herself— he felt the same way about his own leadership skills far more than half the time.

"It's both."

"Both?"

"Yeah," he confirmed, a small, lopsided smile tugging at his mouth. "You are my favorite— no use denying that— but that's not the only reason. You've proven yourself over and over again. You're responsible, reliable, trustworthy. . . it makes leaving you in charge an easy choice."

She blinked at him, startled by the warmth in his tone.

"And besides," he added more firmly, "it's important that you get leadership experience."

Dany huffed good-naturedly at him. "Except I'm not the one who's going to be chief one day. That's you."

He leaned back, exhaling slowly, then shook his head. "Doesn't matter. It's still a good skill to have. Especially because. . . well, I'm going to need all the help I can get." His smile turned wry, his hand sweeping vaguely at the carved pieces scattered across the board. "Especially in the early days after I take over from dad. I hope to Thor that doesn't happen anytime soon."

Dany frowned, the crease between her brows deepening. "But won't that be the role your wife takes?"

Her words tumbled out before she could stop them, and she immediately wished she could swallow them back down. She hated how sharp the thought felt in her chest. She did her best not to think of the bleak future, where one by one her friends would marry off and start families of their own while she would, if the past three years were any indication, be stuck pining after someone she had no chance with.

Because of course he would marry someday. Of course he'd be expected to, probably to some powerful, badass, Valkyrie-type warrior chiefess that everyone in Berk would love. (Her mind whispered Heather? even though she knew Heather wasn't into guys.) And it all came back to the fact that she had nothing to offer. She didn't have lands or allies to bring into Berk's fold. All she had were three very large dragons that were already at Hiccup's disposal because of her loyalty to him.

Her hands twisted together in her lap, her voice quieter when she continued, "you'll have less time for me then, anyway."

For a moment, Hiccup forgot how to breathe. He wanted to tell her you're wrong. I want you there. Not just as my second-in-command, not just as my friend. . . but as the one by my side. My partner. My wife.

But the words clogged in his throat, too heavy, too soon. He wasn't ready to show his hand. Not yet. Instead, he nudged her playfully. "You don't need to worry about that. Really," he tacked on at her doubtful, anxious look, "I've a got a six-year plan I'm working on."

Her eyes lit up curiously and, completely seriously, she inquired, "is this the same plan that had speeches scheduled for year five?"

Hiccup stared at her. His first thought had been that he would say whatever he had to in order to make that horrible, heavy expression in her face dissipate, his own dignity be damned. But then she went throwing things like that around, and all he could do was blurt out: "how do you remember that?"

The blonde laughed quietly at his incredulity. "Trust me, I haven't stopped thinking about it since you mentioned it. And I only wanted to know more after you acted so cagey about not needing a plan. I mean, come on! This is you we're talking about."

Great. This was the second time she'd called him out on his oh-so-subtle ploys that had been years in the making. He sighed. "Yes, it is the same plan."

"So I have to wait. . . twenty-one, two, three—" Dany counted on her fingers, then made a face, "until we're twenty-four to find out your secret?"

"No," he countered, amused. "This is year three. So, if everything goes according to plan, just until we're twenty-one."

She squinted at him critically. "And you can't make it go any faster?"

"You're not the first person who's brought that up," Hiccup admitted. "I just. . . if anything goes wrong, it can lead to catastrophic wreckage of my life as I know it, so everything has to go absolutely, perfectly right."

Dany's expression didn't change except that she pressed her lips together momentarily, then suggested, "and what if nothing goes wrong? Try to think optimistically for once," she quipped.

"Well. . ." It was dangerous to think that way, he knew. If he wasn't careful, it would be exactly as he thought: a phenomenal disaster of epic proportions that he may never recover from. Because, sure, having Dany as his best friend wasn't ideal— especially since he had more than his fair share of not-very-best-friend thoughts about her— but it was far, far better than not having her in his life at all, which he was sure was what the consequence would be if she felt too weirded-out by him having romantic feelings for her.

But, if everything, somehow, did go exactly, perfectly right. . . (though the Gods hadn't done any favors for him thus far in the almost two decades he'd been alive.) "Then I'll be indescribably happy."

"And. . . it's worth it to you to wait two more years when you can feel that way right now?" Daenerys wondered, disbelief clear in her tone.

Hiccup looked at her, really looked at her, and felt the tug in his chest that had been there for years now. Her silvery-blonde hair shimmered faintly in the firelight, her eyes sharp but gentle all at once, the way they always were when she was trying to puzzle him out.

He almost said yes. You're worth every second of waiting.

But the risk still loomed in the back of his mind like a storm cloud. If he told her too soon, if she didn't feel the same way, he'd lose her— not just the chance at something more, but her. The quiet times they spent together, like now, where she leaned closer to him than she did anyone else. The way she always believed in him when no one else did. The way she challenged him, pushed him, made him better. He couldn't gamble that away.

And. . . it wasn't just that. One glance at the tactical map next to them was all the reminder he needed. "Yes. Now. . . isn't really a good time. Once we take care of Viggo, then I can think about being happy."

Dany tilted her head, studying him carefully. "Hiccup. . . happiness doesn't wait for anyone. You can't keep thinking like that. There will always be something— some obstacle, some threat— if you don't just. . . go for it."

Her own mind whispered, what a hypocrite. She was giving him advice she wasn't brave enough to take herself. Every fiber of her being wanted to leap into the truth of her feelings for him, to take the chance, but another voice inside her hissed back: what's the point of starting a doomed relationship? He'll have to do what's best for Berk, and that's not you.

🏹🏹🏹

Unfortunately, Hiccup's apology to Fishlegs didn't go over as well as he'd hoped. The other teen simply brushed him off, excusing himself to work on a 'personal project,' which he failed to elaborate on. It left Hiccup feeling dismissed and rather bereft. Fishlegs hadn't been seen since then and, as it grew later— and thus darker— Hiccup unconsciously made his way to the training arena to pace the enclosed space anxiously. Dany watched him with concern as she leaned against Drogon, who curled up as much as he could to fit in the compact space.

"Do you want me to help you go look for him?" she offered, thinking about what she'd want if she were this worried about her friend. Truthfully, she was troubled by his prolonged absence, but not nearly as much as Hiccup was.

"No, no, I'm sure he's fine," the brunet stated, more to himself than her. "He's. . . probably just geeking out somewhere." But that hardly made him feel better, and he frowned at the thought. "But he usually geeks out with me. It's not like him." His mind returned to his previous concern. "I was probably too hard on him earlier. . ."

"Oh-my-gosh that's so cute!" Dany gushed, unable to help herself. Her eyes rounded in the same way they did when she saw a baby dragon, her hands coming up to cradle her face as she beamed adoringly at him. "You're jealous that Fishlegs is doing something cool without you!"

Hiccup started. He felt the telltale signs of an embarrassed flush creeping up the back of his neck, reaching all the way to his ears. His first reaction was joy— Dany thought he was cute! (It wasn't exactly what he'd hoped— attractive or, less likely, hot would've been nice, but at this point he'd take what he could get.) But then the rest of her words registered and his heart sank a little. She didn't think he was cute— just his response to Fishlegs being missing was. He made a face. "I'm not jealous!"

His protest only caused Daenerys to look utterly delighted. Her smile stretched wide, eyes sparkling with mischief as she tilted her head at him. "You totally are," she teased him. "You can deny it all you want, but it's written all over your face." She reached out and lightly poked his shoulder.

"I am not jealous," he insisted again, more forceful this time. His words tumbled over one another as he scrambled for explanations. "I just— Fishlegs and I— We work on projects together. That's. . . that's what we do. So, if he's off, you know, working on something big and important, and he doesn't want to tell me what it is, then-then—" He stopped, sputtering, realizing he was only digging himself deeper. "It doesn't mean I'm jealous."

Daenerys let out a small laugh, clearly amused at his flustered backpedaling. She folded her arms across her chest, but the grin on her face only deepened. "That's exactly what jealousy sounds like," she remarked, almost sing-song in tone. "You don't have to look at me like that, Hiccup. It's not a bad thing. I thought it was cute!"

"You've really got to stop saying that," he muttered, refusing to meet her eyes. His ears were practically glowing red now.

"Why?" she wondered, completely innocently.

"Because!" he blurted out, hands flailing in exasperation before falling helplessly to his sides. "Because it makes me sound like-like a baby yak or something. That's not exactly what a guy wants to hear."

Dany blinked at him, taken aback for a moment, then broke into laughter— bright, bubbling, and entirely unhelpful to his pride. "A baby yak?" she repeated, giggling.

Hiccup groaned but the corners of his mouth betrayed him, twitching upward despite himself. He risked a glance at her, only to find Dany watching him with that same infuriatingly radiant grin, and his embarrassment eased into something warmer. "You're impossible," he muttered, but his voice lacked any real bite.

She pushed off her dragon and stepped closer, nudging Hiccup's arm with her shoulder in a gesture that was half playful, half reassuring. "Maybe," she admitted lightly, "but that just means you don't have to carry all this worrying by yourself. If Fishlegs is really off doing something on his own, he'll come back when he's ready. And if he's in trouble. . ." Her expression became fonder, the teasing edge melting away. "Then we'll find him. Together."

🏹🏹🏹

As it turned out, Fishlegs did need saving. Meatlug— literally— crashed through Hiccup's door in the middle of the night. He'd shot awake at the noise, panicked for a second that the Edge was being attacked. Then, once he'd gotten his bearings, he'd realized Meatlug was alone— something she almost never was. As one of the clingier dragons, she never would've left Fishlegs behind unless he was in trouble. He leapt into action, rousing everyone (with much whining from the twins and Snotlout) and they set out as soon as they could.

Meatlug led the group to a nearby forest, her wings buzzing along so quickly that she could've rivalled a hummingbird's speed. Snotlout noticed her unusual pace and commented, "I've never seen her move so fast. She's way cooler than I thought."

Her speed turned out to be a bit of an issue by the time they reached the opening of a cave, where her small form was quickly swallowed up by the darkness that not even the light from their lanterns could fully penetrate. Dany glanced behind her, back the way they'd come, where Drogon was waiting (im)patiently outside, once again hesitant to enter an underground system. She couldn't blame him, though it would've been nice to have him here with her.

"Are we sure Fishlegs is even down here?" Astrid wondered aloud, lifting her lantern a bit higher in the hopes of seeing more details around them. She was met mostly with more rock, save for a wall just ahead of them that appeared to be covered in writing, which Meatlug stopped in front of.

Hiccup moved closer to it, allowing his light to illuminate the carvings. "Yes, we are." A sword lay just underneath the words, which he recognized. He picked it up as he informed the group, "he had this in his hand the last time I saw him." He let out a quiet groan of regret. "Why didn't I just stop and pay attention?"

He tucked the sword into Toothless' saddlebag and they continued onward. For a while, there wasn't much of note. . . until, at a fork in one of the tunnels, Meatlug paused in her frantic pace and turned back to look at them, letting out a warble of warning. That didn't bode well. Worried, Hiccup questioned her, "what is it, girl?"

That's when they heard. . . it. A deafening screech that sounded like it came from tens if not hundreds of dragons. It bounced off the rock walls, which amplified its already powerful noise. Dany clamped her hands on her ears and winced, now really wishing Drogon was with her. She moved closer to Toothless, taking comfort in her second-favorite dragon. She felt better knowing that he had the best night vision out of all of them and would be able to see the threat first.

It took a moment for the source of the noise to show itself but, when it did, it was revealed to be a flock of small-ish, white dragons came pouring out of a hole in floor, right at the riders. Snotlout's eyes went wide as he pointed at the creatures zooming towards them. "And what is that?"

Everyone— well, everyone with sense, that is— ducked to avoid the tiny, flying missiles that circled above their heads. They continued to screech, providing an unrelenting assault to their eardrums. Toothless extended his wing over Dany and Hiccup to provide a shield for them. The twins, on the other hand, were more delighted by this development than anything else. Tuffnut stood up straight amongst them, not even flinching when they got too close. "I'll tell you what they are. They're a gaggle of Smidvargs."

His sister reacted much the same, offering calmly, "a bevy of Smidvargs."

"Some would say a bonanza, a symphony, a cacophony of Smidvargs!"

The 'Smidvarg' part, at least, was true. They did look like the leader of the Night Terrors. Except, where in that flock only one was white, they all were. And, upon closer inspection, also had black details along the ridges of their spines.

Luckily, Stormfly, Hookfang and Barf and Belch caught up to them then. The two-headed dragon let out a stream of green gas and sparked it in an effort to spook some of the dragons away. Astrid ran towards her dragon, who met her halfway and intercepted one member of the flock that tried to attack her. Meatlug used her stubby tail to bat them away. Toothless added his own plasma blast to the frenzy.

Hiccup gave him a grateful scratch under his chin as he warned his friends, "stay with your dragons! Do not try to battle these guys—" Snotlout's screaming momentarily interrupted him. Two of the white Night Terrors picked him up and dangled him in the air by his legs. "—on your own. They're not like Smidvarg. They're wild and aggressive."

Dany had no problem with following his direction. She huddled next to Toothless, feeling overwhelmed by the noise and tight quarters that were packed with dragons. Snotlout, however, was not so grateful for the orders and, as he continued to hang upside down, snapped, "maybe you should've said that first? Help me!"

Hookfang did as he was told, slamming his body into the cave's ceiling. A few large boulders were loosened at the impact, but it did the trick. The smaller dragons dropped his rider, though unfortunately right on his head. He lay still for a moment, prompting Hiccup to hurry over to him and inquire, "Snotlout! Are you okay?"

He offered a weak thumbs-up in response. Barf and Belch lit the cave up with another fireball, which also hit the ceiling as they aimed it at three of the white Night Terrors. The Targaryen glanced upward anxiously, once again apprehensive about cave collapse (thanks, Fireworm Queen.)

Astrid shared her thoughts as she shouted, "we need to get out of here!"

"Back the way we came," Hiccup decided.

They made a run for it, ducking between the falling rocks. Dany was pretty sure none of them knew the exact way out, which didn't really make her feel any better as they fled from their attackers. To make matters worse, she had to run with her hands over her ears which made it harder to dodge incoming obstacles. She could feel herself falling behind, her bare feet certainly not helping her gain traction on the stone floor.

And then, it was all over. She stumbled to a halt with the rest of the group as the remaining loose rocks collapsed in a heap, blocking their way— and their access to their dragons. Thankfully, Toothless had stayed close to the teens and was stuck on their side with them. Hiccup was quick to reassure the others, "they'll find their way out."

"I'm not worried about them," Snotlout protested.

He pointed upwards and they followed his finger. Above them, dozens of pink, beady eyes stared back at the teens. The chittering never stopped, but at least it was marginally less screechy. Toothless began to blast at the dragons that were too close for comfort. He did his best, but one dragon alone wasn't enough to fight off the apparently very territorial species.

"Hiccup, there's too many of them," Astrid objected, gesturing to the ceiling.

"And it's glorious! Whoo!" the twins cheered.

Toothless opened his mouth to try again, but the purple light died as quickly as it appeared. "He's out!"

The teens shuffled together, their backs to each other as the white Night Terrors began to take advantage of their vulnerability. Then, another terrible clanging noise sounded through the darkness. Except, this time, the source was a welcome sight. Fishlegs appeared, banging together two axes. The small dragons flinched away from the noise and Dany winced in sympathy. As much as she didn't want to become these guys' dinner, she could more than relate to their sensitive hearing.

"Fishlegs!" Hiccup exclaimed, relieved that his friend was okay.

The Ingerman beamed at him and rushed towards the riders. "Hiccup!" He swept Hiccup up in a bone-crushing hug that had Dany hastily moving out of his way in case he felt like giving anyone else the same treatment. Sure enough, he wrapped Astrid in a hug next, then warmly greeted his dragon. Thankfully, that seemed to end his reception line. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys where I was going. It's just that—" His eyes widened suddenly, prompting him to pick the axes he had previously discarded back up. "Oh, we can talk about this later."

He clanged them together right next to Snotlout's ears. The Jorgenson swayed and clutched his head as the twins laughed at his misfortune. "Wow, that is cool. Keep doing it!"

"Tuff's right," Hiccup agreed, hastily adding, "just not in Snotlout's face."

Snotlout finally lost his balance and fell over with a heavy thud. Ruffnut huffed at the brunet's specification. "Well, that pretty much cuts the fun factor in half."

"These guys are really persistent," Tuffnut observed.

"They're just protecting me," Fishlegs explained, which didn't really clear anything up.

"We can use the axes to keep them at bay until we find another way out," Hiccup suggested.

"Great," Daenerys sighed, "more noise. I'll have a killer headache by the end of this, that's for sure."

Fishlegs straightened with determination, addressing her first. "You can go to the back of the group, Dany— it'll be relatively quieter there. Follow me, guys. I'll get us out of here."

He led the way, the rest of them falling into line behind him with Dany at the back as he'd recommended. She kept a careful eye on Snotlout, who was just in front of her. Her task was made easier in the fact that he'd apparently lost the ability to speak and he mumbled nonsense the whole way, which made her pity him rather than be annoyed at whatever complaints he otherwise would've made.

They arrived in a large cavern that was, surprisingly, filled with a whole supply of all types of Viking weaponry. Fishlegs gestured to it. "Hurry! Grab what you can! I know how to get us out of here."

"Great! Which way?" Hiccup inquired, once they'd armed themselves. Dany opted not to, her hands already full with keeping Snotlout upright.

"That way." Fishlegs pointed straight ahead, indicating a path that was blocked by yet more white Night Terrors.

Fishlegs lurched forward, yelling wildly as he banged his weapons together. The others followed suit. To help them out, Toothless roared as loud as he could while Meatlug spewed a few lava blasts to light their way since they could no longer carry their lanterns.

They arrived in a high-vaulted cave. Following Fishlegs' upward glance, they saw a man-made trap door above their heads. So that was Fishlegs' 'personal project.' A long rope dangled from it, which was unfortunately blocked by a few white Night Terrors.

Just then, two of the small dragons surged forwards and grabbed the axes from Fishlegs hands. Alarmed, he exclaimed, "they're getting used to the sounds! We've gotta get to that hook, Hiccup."

"How?"

One of the white Night Terrors swooped towards them, but it seemed to be less aggressive than the others. Fishlegs smiled and waved at the dragon. "Darkvarg! Yes! Can you help us out, boy?" Darkvarg squealed in agreement, then flew at the few albino Night Terrors that were barring their way. "He cleared a path for us! Hiccup, the sword!"

Hiccup threw the blade bodily towards the rope as Fishlegs rushed forward. He leapt off a rock and grabbed the sword as it turned end-over-end in midair, then landed near enough to slice through the rope. The trap door above them opened, letting light pour into the dark space. Dany screwed her eyes up against the brilliance of it, as did most of the white Night Terrors. They flew into the shadows with indignant screeches.

Toothless waited just long enough for Hiccup, Astrid and Dany to climb on his back before he bounced off the rocks to get a good angle to grab Snotlout. Fishlegs directed Meatlug to grab the twins, then hopped on her back as well. And, just as Hiccup had predicted, their dragons were waiting for them on the other side of the trap door.

🏹🏹🏹

The first thing Hiccup did when they got back to Dragon's Edge was track Fishlegs down, who'd gone straight to his hut. He was outside, cleaning the sword he'd found with an oiled cloth. He looked up when he heard Hiccup's approaching footsteps. Toothless trailed behind him, his head tilted curiously to the side as he watched the pair. The brunet lifted a hand, offering an awkward, "how's it going?"

"Just trying to make sense of this sword," Fishlegs replied.

Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck, not quite sure how to start. Then, they both spoke at the same time: "listen, I wanted to—"

"Me first, Hiccup." Fishlegs took a deep breath, preparing for his confession. "As hard as it was for me to hear what you said yesterday, you were right. I shouldn't have abandoned Dany like that. If I hadn't let Snotlout and the twins get the better of me, maybe we could've worked together to keep the camp more. . . in one piece."

"Fishlegs. . ."

He shrugged and turned away a little. "I don't know how you do it, Hiccup. You lead by example, not by fear, or bossing people around. I have a long way to go before I learn how to do that. Even Dany knows how to handle the twins better than I do."

"Fishlegs, listen to me," Hiccup insisted. "I can barely control those guys on my best days. Dany just started learning how to work with them rather than against them. Either way, the disasters they cause. . ."

He broke off as a loud explosion interrupted him. A plume of smoke billowed up from behind the twins' hut. He sighed. "And that proves my point. The disasters they cause are usually unavoidable. The best we can do is improve our ability to bounce back from them. Anyway, I should not have come down on you, okay? I was wrong. You showed true leadership in those caves. With the Night Terrors, and then with us. Fishlegs, I would never hesitate to put you in charge."

Fishlegs nodded, then gave him a mischievous smirk. "Even if you had to chose between me and Dany?"

The brunet grumbled, wishing his friends would, for once, let up on teasing him about his feelings for her. He didn't give Fishlegs the satisfaction of an embarrassed, flustered response, instead answering calmly with, "you know why I put Dany in charge."

"Because she's your favorite," Fishlegs teased him, any lingering animosity between them dissolving completely.

Hiccup pinned him with a look. "Would you rather keep teasing me about Dany or geek out over the Albino Night Terrors and this sword?"

"I choose the second option," Fishlegs, thankfully, conceded. "Come on— speaking of Dany, let's go get her— I'm sure she'd love to learn more about those dragons!"

A/n: sorry for not updating last week! I just started playing Stardew Valley and got super obsessed with it + this is a rather boring episode imo so it was hard to prioritize writing. I think I can manage my time better now that a bit of the shine has worn off of my new-to-me video game (though I still love it a lot!) And, although I was trying not to do this (since I wanted to write every episode), I decided that I'm going to skip the next one (Turn and Burn) because it's just Hiccup and Snotlout focused and I don't have the motivation to make up a whole arc for Dany. So, that means the next chapter is the Buffalord Soldier, which is interesting and something I'm excited to write!!