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Being a newcomer in Berk wasn’t easy. You were in an uncharted land filled with strangers with different customs and with something far more worrying than just different traditions... They had dragons.
You were wandering around the forest, trying to put some order in your thoughts. Things would be okay, you just needed to get used to that place and for that you needed time. The people seemed friendly enough, even if a bit strange. As long as you stayed away from the dragons, everything would turn out alright.
“Oh, hey!” A voice startled you, making you look up when you reached a clearing. “Hi, Y/N!”
“H-Hi” It was Hiccup, one of the few people you got along with so far. He was a sweet boy, but his dragon was the most ferocious looking one out of them all.
You took a step back, trying not to make it too noticeable, and averted your gaze. In that clearing, and being free from the leaves that obstructed the light, the sun shone brightly above your heads and gave the grass under your feet a warm orangish glow.
“Everything okay?” Hiccup asked, carefully watching you.
“What? Oh, uh... yeah” You forced yourself to smile and walk a little closer to them. “Sure, I’m okay”
You felt him staring still, so you averted your gaze once more. With the corner of your eye, you watched the big black dragon standing next to him. You lifted your gaze again, however, when you noticed Hiccup getting closer to you.
“Want to go for a ride?” He gently took you by the arm. “It’s really fun!”
“What?” You uttered in shock, absently letting him drag you closer.
“Yeah, I bet you two can be friends” Hiccup tugged at you until you were standing right in front of the dragon. “All you have to do is...”
Noticing he was lifting your arm and trying to make you touch the snout, you broke yourself free and gathered some of your courage, enough to vehemently shake your head.
“That’s okay” You felt yourself shaking a little, nervous about the mere idea.
Hiccup watched you in silence for a moment, with the dragon doing just the same thing. The boy recovered quickly, though, because his expression of confusion turned to a comforting smile.
“C’mon, give it a try!” To demonstrate, he climbed up in the saddle and grinned from up there. “He won’t hurt you, I promise”
“No, I don’t want to get anywhere near that beast!” You suddenly exclaimed, just as the nerves twisted in your stomach. It was unnerving enough to be so close to the dragon, you refused to on top of all ride it.
“Beast...?” Hiccup whispered, frowning as a wave of hurt crossed his face.
The dragon, however, wasn’t so subtle. It growled and moved at a dizzying speed, facing its tail to you. Hiccup was already complaining about the sudden movement, but the dragon didn’t listen. Sweeping its tail, you were scooped up onto its back.
“Toothless!” The boy insisted. “What are you doing?”
“No... no, no, no...” You pleaded, but it was too late to stop the dragon.
You screamed at the top of your lungs when the animal took flight, with you barely holding on to the scales as it began flying higher and higher. Hiccup muttered under his breath as he focused on the flight trajectory. You kept holding on for dear life, but the dragon wasn’t done.
“Hiccup!!” You begged him, just as the dragon violently moved the tail and dropped you, giving you a few seconds to think about death before a claw caught you by the ankle. “Aaaaah, help!!”
“Toothless, don’t do that!” The boy was telling the dragon, then glancing at you. “Y/N, don’t panic, he won’t drop you!”
But you weren’t so sure. The world was upside down as you hung from your foot, and the dragon was getting so high that you were getting cold as the clouds grew nearer. You could hear Hiccup lecturing the dragon, even if the sound was muffled by the whistling in your ears. The high speed the dragon moved at made the wind hurt your teary eyes. The air was deafening, and it was starting to make you shudder. Like being scared out of your mind didn’t have you shaky enough.
“Okay, okay!” You attempted, trying to make yourself heard over the loud wind. “I take it back, you’re not a beast! You’re just a dragon, not a beast!”
The dragon made a noise that sounded close to satisfaction, and with a dangerous swing of its paw, catapuled you up onto the saddle. Hiccup was quick to hold on to you and estabilize you.
“I’m so sorry, Y/N” He told you as you shivered and clutched on to his back. “He’s got a bit of a temper”
You didn’t reply, and you wouldn’t have been able to even if you wanted to. All you did was hide your face in Hiccup’s back and wrap your arms around his stomach. Your loud breathing was adding on to the noise that buzzed in your ears.
Only focused on breathing, it took you some time to realize the flight was a lot more estable and slow now. It was almost like you were gliding across the sky instead of rocketing through it like you were before. Despite it all, you were frozen in place by fear and didn’t move an inch.
“You okay?” Hiccup asked, his long hair brushing against your forehead as he looked over his shoulder to you. “Y/N?”
Again, you couldn’t say anything. Not even yourself knew the answer to the question, so all you managed was a strangled sound.
“Why don’t you take a look?” The boy tried again, his voice soft and kind. “It’s really beautiful up here”
“I can’t” You choked out, shaking your head and further pressing yourself against his back. “I can’t...”
“Sure you can, try it!” He reached back to pat your knee. “It’ll be okay, Y/N, trust me”
You thought about it for a moment. Out of everyone you had met in Berk, Hiccup had been the one you were closest to. He was the first one you talked to, and the only person to make you feel almost at home. His sweet nature and attentiveness had been a great comfort in such a harrowing situation upon your arrival. Taking a deep breath, you lifted your head a little bit.
“There you go” Hiccup breathed out as well, relieved to see he was making progress. “Take your time”
Making sure to take deep breaths, you dared to look over Hiccup’s shoulder. A gasp escaped you when you realized how high up you really were. Despite it all, a new feeling began taking over the fear that had settled in your stomach. Curiosity and wonder began bubbling inside you instead.
“Oh, wow...” You gulped, still shielding yourself against his back.
“It’s okay” He reassured you, chuckling a little as he saw how you dared little by little. “It’s okay, Y/N, I promise”
Daring even further thanks to his encouragement, you separated slightly from him. You peered behind you and saw open sky. Prey of a sudden awe, your heart skipped a beat. Looking to your left and your right, you saw the same. A huge vastness of clear blue sky surrounded by clouds. But rather than it being overwhelming or frightening, it was freeing. It was... wonderful.
Realizing you had probably been hurting Hiccup with how tight you had been holding on to him, you lessened your grip a little. Still feeling secure now softly holding on to him, you allowed yourself to look around you.
“It’s... beautiful...” You uttered, earning another chuckle from Hiccup.
“See?” He smiled at you, and his green eyes shone under the sunlight. “It’s not so bad, is it?”
“Y-Yeah...” You breathed out in awe, letting your eyes wander around you and taking in the breathtaking sight. Clouds surrounded you. “You were right”
Trying to make amends, you leaned a little to the side and carefully caressed the dragon’s scales. He tilted his head to look at you, purring almost like a cat. You laughed a little, feeling stupid for having been afraid of him.
“Look at that!” Hiccup exclaimed, patting the dragon’s neck. “I think you have a fan, bud!”
Toothless replied with a noise that you couldn’t decipher, unsure if it was one of happiness or annoyance. Hiccup interpretation of it, however, told you all you needed to know.
“Don’t listen to him, he’s so grumpy” The boy cheerfully told you. “Just enjoy the ride!”
You did as he asked and focused on enjoying the flight. It was a feeling like you had never experienced before, similar to that excitement that ran through you whenever you saw Hiccup.
Up there, high in the sky, it felt so liberating. It was like you were safer there than down in land, like nothing bad could ever happened near the clouds. It felt like a magic spell surrounded you, creating an euphoria in your chest that you didn’t experience since before you were rescued and brought to Berk. It was like an unknown magic that bubbled inside you, promising that everything would be okay as long as Hiccup was there with you.
_
When you landed, that magical spell that seemed to hang over you in the sky vanished. Everything fell dull and awkward back in land, and you stood there looking at Hiccup and his dragon.
“That was cool...” You mumbled, bashfully playing with your hands.
“I told you” The boy smiled at you, there was no sign of conceit in his voice.
“I’m... I’m sorry, Hiccup... about what I said, I didn’t mean-”
“I know” He interrupted you, waving his hands a little in the air. “It’s okay”
Then you looked at the dragon. His face was so expressive that you could almost read his thoughts. He was clearly sulky still.
“Um...” Staring back at Hiccup, you pointed your thumb to the dragon. “What was his name again?”
“Toothless” The boy seemed a little bit timid as he replied. “Get it? Because he has retractible teeth...”
“And...” You smiled, endeared by the name. "Can I talk to him?”
“You can try” Hiccup motioned with his hand, inviting you to do it.
The rational side of your brain began screaming at you again. Trying to ignore it, you approached the dragon sitting in the grass like a dog. He didn’t look dangerous, but that part of your mind reminded you that it was still a dragon.
No, he wasn’t bad. You had hurt his feelings, and you regretted your words.
“Toothless?” You tried, slowly approaching him. Once you were close enough, and seeing that the dragon didn’t react negatively, you plopped down in front of him, crossing your legs. “Hi...”
The dragon watched you with his big green and black eyes. They were full of emotion, showcasing a certain resentment towards you. You didn’t blame him.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t really mean what I said” You averted your gaze, overcome by the heavy guilt that your harsh words caused you. “You’re not a beast, I was just scared... but I’m not anymore”
Toothless tilted his head a little, and you smiled at the gesture. He leaned his head closer to you, almost telling you he was willing to listen now.
“I had never been around dragons, but...” You sighed, looking over your shoulder to Hiccup fondly watchign you two. “Now I get why he loves you so much, you’re not just a dragon”
Toothless watched you, not moving. Thinking he might need some time to forgive that offence, you resigned yourself to stand up. Reuniting with Hiccup, you thought that maybe he could tell you a way to make it up to the dragon.
“Wait...” Hiccup told you. “I think he wants you to stay”
“Really? How can you be so sure?”
“There’s only one way to find out” He held out his hand, which baffled you a bit. “Do you trust me?”
You nodded your head without thinking, taking his hand and letting him lead you. Carefully, Hiccup walked with you, hand in hand. This time you let him, surprised by how calm you were. Once you were in front of Toothless, who had stood up, the boy stopped.
Moving slowly, Hiccup maneuvered your hand until it hovered in the air right before Toothless’ snout. Making to press it against it, you moved it closer, but Hiccup softly tightened his grip to keep you from doing it.
Toothless moved slowly, and you held your breath as he did. For just a second, that fear returned to you, screaming that you were standing in front of a dragon. Hiccup’s closeness, however, reassured you. His touch was soft and gentle, like a silent promise that nothing bad would happen. Like magic.
Finally, Toothless pressed his snout against your palm. You gasped in delight, lightly closing your fingers against it to feel his scales. That connection felt magical, and you realized the truth behind your own words. Toothless was so much more than just a dragon. He was Hiccup’s best friend, and you were starting to understand why.
Smiling from ear to ear, you cautiously caressed Toothless’ head, who wiggled in the spot like a puppy. You laughed a little, suddenly finding him adorable.
“Wow...” You stepped back in awe, holding your own hand as it tingled with the ghost of that magical touch. “Dragons are great”
“Right?” Hiccup chuckled a little, pressing a hand against your back when you walked into him. “You just need to give them a chance”
“Thanks, Hiccup” You genuinely told him, turning to face him. “For everything”
“It was nothing...”
“No, really! I didn’t know anyone when I arrived here, and if it weren’t for you...”
Before you could finish your sentence, or find out where you were getting at it with, something interrupted you. A force behind you pushed you with so much force that you found yourself stumbling against Hiccup, who hurried to catch you before you could fall.
“What....?” You uttered, looking over your shoulder. “Toothless?”
“He definitely likes you” Hiccup timidly chuckled, blushing a little. “I think you’re forgiven”
A remnant of that magic from before returned to you when you realized how close you two were. You were leaning against Hiccup, resting your hands on his shoulders. His hands were steadying you by the waist, and his face was flushed with how close yours was.
“Um...” He cleared his throat, awkwardly chucklind and pulling away. “We should head back”
“Y-Yeah” You stepped back yourself, averting your gaze when you felt your cheeks burning. “Yeah...”
Your eyes fell over Toothless, who was staring at you and opening his mouth in a gesture that resembled a smile. You grinned at him too. The dragon moved beside you as you walked with Hiccup.
Toothlesss nudged your arm, since he had surprisingly chosen to follow by your side instead of Hiccup’s. Somehow understanding his intentions, you pressed your shoulder against Hiccup’s. In response, the boy pulled at your pinkie finger with his. You went further and held on to his hand. Hiccup immediately squeezed it.
No more words were spoken as you silently returned to Berk, but that magic had returned permanently as you headed home with Hiccup and Toothless.