Chapter Text
Weightless.
Cold…
OH SHIT
Your eyes fly open and dart around to try to rest upon something, anything. Anything besides the clouds surrounding, then rising above and beyond you. Anything that might save you from the eventual inevitable.
You are falling. You always knew it would come to this, so adamant you were about your 'fear of heights' that you kept correcting others to a 'fear of falling.' You told them, but no, they had to push and push until you relented.
You finally see his form, on the back of a black blur racing toward you. You hear your name screamed out just as your vision turns to white all around you. You can't help but feel this is the end, and your last thought ends up being 'I don't regret any of it.'
THREE MONTHS EARLIER
New Berk. It almost reminded you of old Berk except, well, more normal-shaped. Why the Viking ancestors before them decided to settle on a land more vertical than horizontal, you'll never know or understand. But with the incoming refugees from other Viking clans, along with the dragons that the Chief keeps rescuing, the town definitely needed an expansion.
There are a lot of similarities to the old Berk. The majority of the town still stands along a tall cliffside. There is construction underway to build a long ramp leading down from the cliff to the water's edge. Odin willing, even the people are the same- mostly.
But there is a lot different too. More landscape meant more room for the town and even more room for the dragons to nest and hunt. People are more on edge, from the recent move because of the threat of dragon trappers attempting to find them- but also from the fact that the majority of this land being settled on hasn't yet been completely explored. There is even the slightest possibility that there's already a town here.
Chief Hiccup assured everyone that after multiple scouts and fly-overs, the likelihood of another civilization on this island is close to zero. You believe him, for some reason. He just seemed really earnest, you guessed. You didn't actually know the guy, but you've heard a lot.
You move to your next project, pulling yourself away from your relaxing break. Being a carpenter was especially useful when you were building an entirely new town. You're still rather new to the whole thing, the carpenter's axe was a bit more awkward in your hand than the battle-axe you had trained on as a kid. Sometimes you still bent nails when hammering boards into place. No matter your mess-ups, which were happening far less often, the other carpenters caused no trouble with you- often teaching you the correct way to do whatever task you needed help to figure out. For Vikings, these lads sure were nice. Another influence from Chief Hiccup, if the rumours were true.
The Great Hall had been constructed first. A place to eat and drink, and turned into a temporary shelter until the rest of the homes were built. It was essentially the central point to the entire town, what there is of it so far, so that's where you were walking to. You heard your name called once close enough, turning to notice Skullgar waving you over. He was a nice enough older man- gruff, but attentive. There wasn't a leader in the construction crews aside from the Chief, but if there was Skullgar would be the closest to it.
"Hey, mind grabbing a couple extra boxes of nails from the shed? We're running a bit low and gotta patch up a few holes in the Hall." You nod, changing direction with a wave to him. The 'shed' was the carpenter's shed, where the tools and extra supplies not being used were kept together. You were intimately familiar with the building, having been part of the crew who built it, and spending the majority of your time there. You've even taken to sleeping there behind a few boxes, feeling more comfortable by yourself instead of surrounded by the whole village in the Great Hall.
You pushed the door open with a squeak, the fading sunlight catching on the dust motes hanging in the air. Something moves suddenly and quickly inside, causing you to jump and press a hand to your chest. It was just a guy, but you hadn't expected the room to be occupied. It’s a public building, however, so nothing unusual. The man, who also had jumped and was looking at you with such wide eyes he seems to have been caught doing something he shouldn’t have been, starts scooping a bunch of papers spread across a table into a pile.
“Sorry!” The man calls out, looking between the pile of papers scooped together and back to you. “Sorry, I didn’t know anyone would be here, I’m not trying to get in the-” The man curses, dropping a few metal pieces onto the floor with tiny clanks. You stare at his stumbling awkwardness, trying to hold back a chuckle. “Were you looking for me? Did someone send for me- was it Astrid?”
“Okay, okay,” You hold your hands up peacefully, waving him down. “I was just sent here for a box of nails. Nothing to worry about.” The more you stared at him, the more familiar he became. You couldn’t quite put your finger on it. You watch the man’s shoulders slump in relief as he lets himself fall backwards into the chair he had probably just been sitting in, his shaggy brown hair flopping around his head at his jerky movements.
“Oh, right. Right,” He chuckles nervously, raising a hand to rub the back of his head. “This is the carpenters’ shed, I forgot.”
“You forgot you were in a shed?” You question him as you walk to the closest wall of shelves, plenty of boxes of freshly hammered nails just lying in wait. You grab a couple of boxes in each hand, turning to eye him.
“Right, well. I was just,” He hesitates, looking up to you with a wince, “I had a few ideas I needed to jot down on my notes, and everyone kept harrying me. I was hoping for a place of respite.”
“Trying to get away from it all?”
“Just for a bit,” His tone slowed, looking at you with confusion before suddenly changing the subject, “I’m sorry, are you new?” You shrugged in response, making your way back to the door.
“Sort of. ‘Was new in the old Berk, but moved here with the lot.” You glance back to him, standing once more in the doorway. “You do look familiar, though. Do you work any of the manual labour jobs?” You watch him tilt his head consideringly, shrugging.
“Well, I’m sort of a blacksmith. Been helping with those,” He nods toward your hands, indicating the nails. You squint your eyes for a moment- and then it finally comes to you.
“Oh! Thor’s hammer, you’re Chief Hiccup.” You laugh then, shaking your head in disbelief at yourself. ‘Didn’t even recognize your own Chief. Really?’ He immediately starts shaking his head, using his hands on the armrest of the chair to push himself to stand.
“Please, don’t- not the whole title. Just Hiccup. Hiccup is fine.” He takes a step closer toward you, and you’ve realized you’ve been threatening your exit without actually stepping away. He was entertaining to talk to, but you were probably holding the other guys up.
“Just Hiccup then.” You smile softly, pushing the boxes in one hand under your other arm to extend the hand toward him. “I’m [y/n], one of the carpenters here.” You watch Hiccup move a bit too quickly, tripping slightly before righting himself in front of you, reaching to shake your hand.
“Carpenter, right. Yeah, that,” He chuckles nervously, looking around the shed, “That does make sense.”
“It was nice to officially meet you, Hiccup, but, uh-” You hesitate, waving the boxes of nails in the air as an explanation. Hiccup looks confused for half a second before stumbling back again, nodding quickly.
“Yeah, right of course! Duty calls!” You laugh, your chest beginning to expand into something pleasant at the sight of this awkward man. Who knew the Chief could be such a… a normal guy?
Construction moves a heck of a lot faster when you have dragons to help. Of course, that was only if they wanted to. Some dragons were so close to their riders that they’d do anything to help, eagerly waiting for their next task. Some, you were told, were just bored enough to offer assistance. Between the dragons with large, axe-like tails knocking trees down in a quarter of the time and the larger dragons able to lift the entire log to move to the saws easier, plus the ones able to fly up and hover above any building to place it’s roof quicker, homes were being built in record time.
You didn’t have your own dragon, never seeming to find one that meshes well with you. To tell the truth, no dragon seemed to pay you any attention. You didn’t mind, honestly. You were mostly just scared of them when you first moved to the old Berk, but you’ve since grown used to their constant presence. They each had their own personality, and you’ve quickly learned which ones with the pricklier attitudes to avoid. Plus, they provide a never-ending amount of work with their accidents- whether burning things unintentionally or knocking their giant bodies into buildings- so you feel a sort of job security here. At least these people wouldn’t kick you out, your job was important.
You mainly helped with the ground-level projects. You’ve been helping build homes for all of the residents, and while few people still claimed shelter in the Great Hall, most now were no longer homeless. You were still sleeping in the shed, still unnoticed, even though you’ve been offered every house built since the beginning. The self-assigned leaders decided that the carpenters and blacksmiths- the manual labourers helping to build this town- were designated the most important to be given a home first. They needed the best rest they could get if they were to build the rest of the homes and shops. However, building from the inside of the town outward meant that every home offered to you would be located in the center of town. If anything, you were a home-in-the-outskirts kind of guy.
You were currently helping to build the ramp down to the ocean’s edge, kneeling on the edge of the path to hammer the nails into the steps when you suddenly let out a loud curse. You drop your hammer, bringing your thumb up to your mouth to suck on it. It wasn’t bleeding, but the force alone had hurt. You might’ve even bruised yourself once again. Glancing down, you mumble another curse through your thumb as you eye the bent nail sticking out of the plank, mocking you. Shaking your head, you lift your hammer once more to pry the useless nail out, adding it to a pouch on the front of your leather apron. You reach to the side, knocking your hand against the box of nails- of empty nails, apparently.
Shaking your head at yourself, you take the empty box and stand, adding your hammer to a loop on the side of your apron for easy access. You make your way to the top of the cliff carefully, the ramp having no railings yet, and breathe a sigh of relief as you get to the top. Heights don’t generally scare you, but the idea of falling off of the side of that dangerous railing? Now that was frightening. You make mention of your plans to Skullgar, who happens to be nearby, and he grunts in reply as you make your way to the shed.
You eye the building in the distance, remembering only a few days earlier when you had met Hiccup for the first time. Since then, you have begun to see him everywhere. He was always around the construction sites, pointing out the next place available for a home to be built, planning where the blacksmith’s forge and shop would be put, and even deciding on a building specifically to make the dragon saddles so the queue wouldn’t stop up the construction materials. You particularly liked when he offered to help, holding large pieces of lumber in place for the supports of a home, or lifting large boxes onto a dragon for transport. For such a skinny man- compared to the rest of the Vikings- Hiccup sure has a good amount of hidden muscle.
But you were sure everyone liked to stare at Hiccup, he was the Chief after all. And incredibly handsome. They were just better at hiding it, you supposed, since you’ve never seen anyone else so distracted by him as you appear to be. You’ve even taken to trying to avoid the major areas that he’s been frequenting, trying to keep yourself from being distracted so you could properly work. It worked well today, when you decided to go halfway down the cliff’s edge, you couldn’t see anyone else besides the dragon riders flying back and forth, from the top to the bottom. They had to build the docks down there, and the supports for the ramp.
You pushed open the door and realized now why you hadn’t seen Hiccup amongst Skullgar and the rest earlier. He glances up just as you enter, and you watch a smile grow across his face. His eyes drew you in, such a deep colour of green that you couldn’t help but be breathless for a second. They almost seemed to reflect the light pouring in from the door, like a star shining in his eyes. He unconsciously took a step toward you, his smile growing.
“Seems every time I need a moment away, I find you.”
You breathe in, tearing your eyes away from that mesmerizing sight. Right, time away. “Sorry for interrupting then, I’ll be quick.” Your voice is more mumbled than you would’ve liked, but you try to quicken your pace to the shelf, grabbing one box to slip into your apron. Hiccup was quick to rebut, reaching out to place a hand on your shoulder.
“No, no! That’s not what I meant.” You turn your head slightly, glancing at him from the corner of your eye. “It’s a nice surprise, is all. You helped me to relax last time.” You try to hold back a laugh, your lips tilting up into a smile with the effort.
“I helped you to relax?” You turn, leaning your back against the shelf behind you, the wood digging a painful line into your spine. “I scared you half to death, you tripped like three times, and stuttered the entire time?”
“I did not stutter,” Hiccup refutes, pointing a finger toward your chest. He drops his hand with a laugh, shaking his head. “I can’t really argue the other two points.” He seems to be having trouble keeping his eyes off of you, trying to look around the room nonchalantly before being inevitably drawn back to you. It felt weird, to have someone’s full attention like this. “I don’t know, you brought me out of my head for a bit.”
“Well, I’m glad I could help,” You mumble, dropping your gaze to your apron. You begin to pull the bent nails out of their pocket, dropping them into the empty box you had carried back from the ramp, as you continue. “I’m always looking for more ways to be helpful around here.”
“From what I’ve seen, you’re helpful enough.” You glance up at him briefly before looking back down, and you hear a bit of stuttering in response from him. “I mean, that is to say, you help out a lot. A lot more than some of these guys, anyway. Half of them just let their dragon do all of the work, they don’t ever even pick up a hammer themselves anymore.” You chuckle blandly, nodding along. Of course, you’d noticed this, but it wasn’t your place to judge anyone. At least they were trying to help.
“Well, thank you for,” You hesitate, your eyes moving back to him as you finish your sentence slowly, “Noticing.” Was he really noticing you? You didn’t think anyone besides Skullgar even registered your presence. Hiccup begins his awkward laugh, once again trying to drag his eyesight away from you to go anywhere else in the room, raising a hand to rub the back of his head.
“Ah, well. It’s sort of my job, isn’t it?” His eyes lock into place, unseeing. “I mean, that’s exactly it, right? It’s my job to organize the building process of the town, so I gotta’ keep an eye on everyone. Make sure that everything’s running smoothly. That no one is slacking off,” He continues his awkward laugh, finally meeting your gaze once more, “Those… dang slackers.”
You finally laugh, the familiar laugh from before that feels like something in your chest is loosening its grip. You feel lighter, somehow. “Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I’ve been noticing you around a lot more.” You close the box of bent nails, waving them around with a jingle. “Decided to take on more chiefly duties now that your dragon is off being distracted?” Hiccup glances at the box in your hand, seeming distracted.
“Yeah, something like that,” He reaches a hand out, stopping your movement and taking the box out of your grip. “What’s this? Why are there so many of these bent out of shape?” You chuckle nervously in response, crossing your arms and pulling them into yourself.
“Ah, well. I get distracted, or I don’t angle the hammer the right way. Still learning, after all.” Hiccup raises his gaze to meet yours, a gentle smile gracing his face. You feel the tightness in your shoulders loosen.
“Well, that’s fine. Easy enough to fix.” He reaches inside and takes one of the 90° angles, inspecting it close to his face. Concentration was apparent, his eyebrows scrunching together to create a small line between them, his eyes squinting tighter, his lips pursing just slightly. How could anyone get any work done around this man? His expressions were so vivid, each one with its own little face shape and quirk. You could spend a lifetime studying this man- if you were an artist you would find yourself drawing him and never getting bored. “I’m hurt.”
You jump, clearing your throat and coming back to yourself. You tried to play off the fact that you’d just been staring at him directly, feeling an awkward pinch in your stomach. “What?”
“These were the nails I made,” He meets your eyes for a second before pointing a finger toward the top of the nail. “Gobber puts tiny grooves in the tops of his nails, said something about supporting the shape better or something.” Hiccup shrugs, dropping the nail back into the box. “I’m not talented enough for those fine details yet.”
“But I thought fine details were what you did? Don’t you make dragon saddles?” You shifted your weight to your other foot, curious now. You watched Hiccup hesitate for a moment, tossing the box onto a nearby table- empty of papers. What had he been doing in here if not-?
“I’ve gotten pretty decent at leatherworking. Gobber tends to help more with the metals, I never really got the hang of it.” You nod along, shifting your weight again. You felt yourself getting antsy, glancing toward the open door and watching a random dragon lumber past.
“I’ve never really gotten the hang of anything,” You admit quietly, unsure why. Hiccup takes a step closer, lessening the distance enough that you can almost feel his presence right next to you.
“But, you’re a carpenter? Wouldn’t that mean you’re good with wood?” You shrug, glancing back toward Hiccup from the corner of your eye once again. His expression now is one of confusion, maybe even pity? No, not pity, but there was something there that you couldn’t quite read. If only you could spend more time with him, perhaps you’d know his expressions more clearly. You could already feel every expression of feeling being burned into your chest, you were learning more and more about him and it almost terrified you how much you yearned to learn more. You remained quiet for probably a beat too long before you spoke.
“Better at it than I thought I would be, I guess.” You push yourself up, moving toward the door. You stopped on the threshold, turning around to meet his eyes once again. He hadn’t moved aside from keeping his eyes trained on you. “I should get back to work.”
“I’d say I’ll see you later in the Great Hall, but I don’t think I’ve seen you eat there once.” ‘Does he really notice?’
“I tend to take my suppers on the go, or in bed.” Hiccup nods, looking almost as if he wants to say something, but refrains. You look back to the blinding outside, the darkness of the shed having messed with your vision. “I’ll see you later, though, I’m sure.”
Your meetings in the shed become more frequent, and begin to last a lot longer as well. You talk about everything and yet nothing at the same time, learning his favourite colour and telling him yours. Gossiping about the other carpenters, laughing about Gobber awkwardly trying to flirt with some of the new men. They also begin to be interrupted a lot more- the longer you both stay huddled in the shed, the more opportunity for someone to need more nails or a replacement hammer. They always looked at the two of you with a weird side-eye, causing you to grow uncomfortable and cut the talk short. It was one day, almost a week after these talks began to grow comfortable, that Hiccup finally asked.
“So, which house did you claim anyway?” You look up to him with a smirk, then drop your gaze once more to the block of wood in your hand, careful not to cut yourself with the sharp knife in your other. You’ve taken to whittling this last week. Hiccup suggested it the time he saw you after you said you had no speciality, saying perhaps you were just better with the finer details than the larger projects. You were willing to give it a try. Now, every time you two meet up you pull out this same block of wood and continue to shave away at it, still unsure what you were making. It helped to be doing something with your hands.
“Looking to pay a late-night visit, are we?” Hiccup chokes and stutters, attempting to say words yet not quite reaching that goal. You laugh, feeling light and airy, something you’ve grown accustomed to whenever you’re with Hiccup. “It’s a joke,” You reassure, continuing with a shrug. “I don’t have one.” It’s quiet for a few moments, and you can practically hear Hiccup’s confusion.
“Don’t have one?” Hiccup lets that thought sit in the air for a moment before beginning his tirade, “But, wait what? All of the carpenters got a house before anyone else did? Weren’t you able to pick which one you wanted? Did they somehow forget about you? But- wait, where have you been staying though? I always check on the lads still living in the Great Hall- just a check-up, y’know, to make sure they’re doing alright. But I never see you there. Still. Even at night, when you should be sleeping- where do you sleep?” You feel your chest shaking in laughter, raising a hand to rest your fingers against Hiccup’s arm to finally stop his words. You’d noticed that one already, whenever you touch him he always stops everything, paying his full attention to you. It still felt weird.
“I sleep here.” You take your hand back, moving to continue your whittling.
“What, here?”
“Yes, here.” You glance up to see him looking around the space in disbelief. Then his eyes are back on you, those glorious emerald eyes. They always seemed a deeper green inside the shed, probably something to do with the lighting. They were of a yellowed green when outside, the sun shining on his face.
“What do you mean?” You set your work aside on the table, standing from the chair you’d been lounging in. At some point a second chair had been added to the shed- you were suspicious that Hiccup had done so, but have yet to prove that fact. You move to the side of the shed most people just avoid, full of planks of wood, pallets, and boxes filled with supplies. At the farthest wall, you motion behind a few of the stacked boxes, indicating your own little space. All there is to see are a few boxes with hay piled on top, a few changes of clothes pushed behind your pillow and a canteen lying on its side nearby. You didn’t need much, and Skullgar allowed to you stay once he discovered you one late night.
Hiccup stood quickly, limping slightly at first before straightening. He had to push in close to you to see the space you indicated, and you could feel the heat radiating from his body. He was always so warm. He soaked in the sight of your ‘bed’ for a few heartbeats before shaking his head, mumbling “No.
“Nope,” He continues, his voice getting louder as he keeps taking steps away, shaking his head more, “No! What? No!” He laughs, disbelief colouring his voice. “You mean to say you’ve been sleeping on that this whole time? You’ve been staying in this drafty, unfit-” He laughs again, looking around the shed as if with new eyes. They land back on you with something new. You’ve yet to see this determination in his eyes. “No, we’re building you a house.”
“It’s fine, really-”
“I’m not hearing it,” He replies defiantly, taking a step forward and taking your hand, pulling gently. “Come on, we’re picking you a house.”
“They offered them all to me,” You injected, but followed along. He led you to the door before stopping, turning to look at you curiously, his head at a tilt. “Skullgar has made sure to offer every home that we’ve built. He’s even said I could design my own at some point, and I’m extremely grateful, for everything.” You shrug, acting like it’s no big deal. Because it’s not, to you. Besides, you were living in a barn at the old Berk. If anything this was a step up. “It’s just that- well, none of them fit.”
“Why not?” Hiccup turns his attention solely toward you, and you feel like he’s forgotten that his hand is still in yours. “Why haven’t they fit? We’ll make one that will.” Laughter is forced out of your throat, shaking your head in disbelief at the gall.
“They’re all just really close to the Great Hall. To the majority of the whole city.”
“Yes?” Hiccup nods at you to continue, but still doesn’t understand. “It’s safer?”
“It’s not very comfortable for me,” You mumble in reply, shrugging again. “I like being a little farther out. On the outskirts.” You smirk then, looking over his shoulder to the outside. “Can’t exactly build a house on the outskirts if you don’t know where the town will end just yet.”
“We’ll pick a spot. You and me, we’ll go walk out into the forest and when it seems far enough then we’ll settle it. I’ll make sure of it, I can borrow Grimrar from Skullgar, clear the area of the trees. And-” In Hiccup’s distracted mumbling he finally smiles, meeting your gaze once more. “We can design a blueprint for your house. Together.” He startles slightly, rubbing the back of his head once more. “I mean, if you want to. Just that, I’m really good at drawing blueprints and designing things, I’m just offering my help. I also have paper, y’know, and-”
“And I think that’s a great idea, Hiccup.” You interrupt him gently, tugging lightly against his hand still in yours, and you see the moment he remembers he was still holding your hand. You’ve never quite seen such a cute blush light up on someone’s face before. Still so expressive.
“Do you want to right now?” Hiccup stutters out, and you’re surprised that he hasn’t pulled his hand away, instead tugging you back in reply. “We can go and-”
“Hiccup!” You glance over his shoulder, spying the second-in-command, Astrid, looking relieved and beginning a jog toward the shed. You were sure she’d only seen the back of Hiccup, and you were still inside the building unseen. As Hiccup moves to turn and face her in response, you pull your hand away and take a few steps back into the shed, looking at the shelves. You came in here for something earlier, something you had to grab. If only you could remember what that was. Astrid’s voice sounds closer now as she speaks, “We need Toothless to come down and settle a fight between a few dragons. If they keep going the way it looks, they might end up tearing down half of the Great Hall. I swear, something has gotten into these-” You hear her stop herself bluntly, followed by a, “Who is that?”
“Astrid, I-” Hiccup hesitates, and you watch him look between you and her from the corner of your eye. “That sounds- I mean to say, I was just, uh-”
“Go on Hiccup,” You mumble quietly, trying not to intrude on their chiefly business. You turn with what you hope is a comforting smile, nodding at him. “It sounds pretty dire. You should go take care of that.” It seems almost like he’s going to argue when he gets jerked to the side, looking back toward Astrid.
“Come on, we can talk on the way.”
“I’ll see you soon, ok?” Hiccup calls out to you, already making his way in the direction of the Great Hall. You just wave in response, looking back to the shelf. Was it the nails you needed?
You’ve already grown accustomed to the sounds of New Berk at night. With the number of dragons here, some of whom already being nocturnal, there are plenty of noises that would’ve kept you up at night back home. ‘Not home,’ You remind yourself, ‘Just back where I’m from. It’s not home any longer.’ Though, nothing really feels like home anymore.
The sound of the door to the shed opening, however, was not part of the common thread of sounds. You felt yourself stiffen, laying unnaturally still as you try to listen. You hear a quiet footstep, then the sound of metal clanking against wood. Once more, a repeat of those sounds, then silence. Then your name was called out softly. You push yourself up, flipping off your blanket and practically crawling out of your little hiding spot. Once standing, you lock eyes with none other than Hiccup.
“Can’t seem to get enough of me?” You ask, whispering. Neither of you really needed to, but it felt appropriate at this time of night. You lean against one of the boxes hiding your bed away, crossing your arms. “How’d the dragon taming go? Do I have some extra work on my hands in the morning?” Hiccup had such a soft look on his face that it felt almost out of place being directed toward you.
“No, no extra work. Toothless always comes when I whistle for him, and being the alpha has its perks. We also separated the duelling dragons to either side of the town, so it shouldn’t be a problem anymore.” His voice was low and rough, and you shifted your stance unconsciously at the sound. You really liked it. “But, enough of that. We have work to do.”
“Now?” You ask, shooting a look toward the open, shutterless window, out to the pitch black of night. “How long ago did dinner even end? I doubt we could go scouting in the woods right now.”
“Maybe not, but we could begin designing, maybe?” Hiccup chuckles nervously, taking a few steps toward the empty table and pulling a handful of papers out of his pockets. “I managed to grab some past schematics that were used in the construction of some of the other shops and houses. Thought we could use them as a starting point, pick out the features you like the best and condense all of them.” As he rambled you stood there in shock, listening to his plan. It almost sounded like he’d been thinking of this since he left you earlier that day.
“Right now?” You ask, disbelief colouring your voice. Hiccup looks up quickly, locking eyes. “It’s the dead of night? When do you even sleep?”
“Oh- right, no, that’s,” He did his nervous laugh, rubbing the back of his head and turning fully toward you. “I have a place, up the hill on the edge of the cliff. I sleep there. At some points. Sometimes. Sometimes I go out and find Toothless in a clearing nearby and sleep against him. I-” He shakes his head, widening his eyes and looking away as if berating himself. “No, but if you want to sleep, yeah, I can totally just go.”
“No, it’s- it’s fine-” You stumble over your own words now, shooting your hands out as if you could make him stay.
“I just thought maybe,” Hiccup speaks over you accidentally, stopping himself to nod toward you, restarting his thought. “I just figured we’d get interrupted a lot less if- well,”
“If everyone else was asleep?” You finished, a subconscious smile spreading across your face.
“Well, yeah.”
“You’re gonna’ be too tired for your chiefly duties tomorrow.”
“You’re gonna’ be too tired for your carpentry duties tomorrow,” Hiccup shot back, as if proving a point. You just silently chuckle until he realises that the point he was proving was your own, and he turns his head in thought. “I just mean-” He hesitates like he’s trying to come up with an excuse. “I can just tell people you need some rest. You can take a break.” This thought seems to spark another, causing him to turn and look at you with a curious look. “Wait, when do you take a break? I always see you working or- well, here.” You look away guiltily, shrugging.
“These little sessions are my breaks.”
“No, but they only last less than an hour.” You weren’t so sure of that one, but you didn’t deign to argue the point. “That doesn’t count, everyone should get a day off. A full day off.”
“What would I even do?” You shoot back, half-seriously. There really wasn’t anything for you to do besides just help out. And talk to Hiccup, apparently.
“You could go fly?” You laugh nervously, shaking your head.
“It’s fine Hiccup, let’s just take a look at these plans you brought.” He seems ready to argue the point, but you tap your finger against a random paper. “I really like how this room is shaped.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to be closer? I mean, you can’t even see the town from here.” Hiccup continues his complaining, glancing nervously back the way you both came to tilt his head this way and that, as if that would help his sight.
“I don’t really want to be able to see the town,” You insist, stopping and taking a long look around the area. “Just enough away that the town doesn’t bother me, but close enough that the walk to work won’t take too long.” Your words were mumbled, nodding your head slowly. This looked like a decent place. You heard the trickle of a stream nearby and thought you could see part of it through the thick brush and trees.
“But, it’s not really safe, is it? I mean, if we’re going to be attacked they’d pick off the people on the edges and work their way in.” Hiccup demonstrated his point with his hands, moving up next to where you were standing.
“I can take care of myself.”
“I’m not saying you can’t, it’s just- I just-” He hesitates, looking around as if the words would come to him.
“What, you’re worried about me?” You laugh, the thought being ridiculous enough to be a joke. As you look back at his face, your laughter dies down.
“Well, yeah.” His voice was quiet and sincere. You were startled and confused. Your response was to break eye contact, waving ahead of you at the area.
“I think this is a good place.”
“Alright,” Hiccup begins with a clap, smiling toward you brighter than the sun shining through the trees. “Let’s get started.”