Fire and the Thud [Hiccup x Reader]

Only Ones Who Know

Hiccup and I shared an excited look before he nodded his head towards Toothless, and soon we were making our way to what I hoped was the dragon we'd been looking for.

Eventually we were huddled together in a cluster of trees, peeking out into a grassy opening in which the Night Fury I had spotted earlier was occupying.

"Okay, bud, maybe you should go out first," Hiccup murmured. Toothless and I both turned our heads to look at him with raised eyebrows. He glanced between us before widening his eyes a bit, shrugging his shoulders.

"What? Maybe it'll be easier if the dragons interact first," he explained in a hushed tone. I paused to consider his reasoning before shrugging back.

Toothless seemed to agree as well, and gave a small warning in the form of a croon before pushing his way out of the trees towards the other Night Fury, who was sat curled up on the ground, eying its surroundings. It sat up sharply as Toothless entered the opening, and I held my breath as the two dragons eyed one another. It was silent, and I could feel the tension in the air as we all waited for something to happen. I felt a warmth on my hand and glanced down, noticing Hiccup reaching to intertwine our fingers absentmindedly. I looked up towards his face but he was absorbed in the scene before us. I turned my attention back to the dragons, whom hadn't moved an inch. They were just staring, and I wasn't sure what was happening until Toothless' face lit up with a delighted purr. The opposing Night Fury tilted its head in response, and Toothless began hopping and crooning, wiggling around the dragon in such an ecstatic manner that I had to cover my mouth to keep from laughing. The Night Fury held an amused expression in its eyes and murmured a gentle noise at Toothless and his excessive energy.

"I have no idea what's happening but I think it's going well?" The end of Hiccup's sentence raised in a slight question, and he broke his trance from the dragons to look at me with a pleasantly surprised expression.

I laughed quietly, parting my lips to respond when we both turned our heads toward Toothless, who had stopped suddenly and turned his eyes towards the two of us before calling out. Hiccup's eyebrows furrowed for a second before he turned to me, gesturing towards the opening with his free hand. I took a deep breath before imitating his hand and then followed him when he began to make his way out. We moved as slow and innocuous as we could, but the moment we appeared in the opening, the Night Fury who had recently been entertained by Toothless sat up with a snarl in our direction. Hiccup stopped moving at that very second, and I stumbled a bit in an attempt to not crash into his back. He waited patiently as Toothless gave the Night Fury an assuring croon before hopping his way over to Hiccup and licking his face enthusiastically. Hiccup attempted to not squirm, only crinkling his nose and containing his laughter until Toothless moved to give me my turn of his loving saliva bath. The Night Fury watched with a confused yet curious expression until our eyes met, and I could see the recognition form as its pupils began to dilate before it shook his head, eyes returning to the familiar slits. We held a gaze for a couple more seconds until Toothless broke it by nudging Hiccup forward. The Night Fury snapped its eyes toward the boy, watching his every move.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, bud?" Hiccup whispered, but Toothless only nodded with a huff before nudging Hiccup forward once more.

Hiccup immediately went into dragon trainer mode as he strolled towards the dragon, radiating his gentle demeanor. He began murmuring sweet nonsense and assurances with his hand outstretched a bit, gaze entirely focused on the Night Fury before him. The dragon examined Hiccup with cautious eyes until he stepped directly in front of it and stopped, arm extended in the air. I held my breath again, unsure of what would happen. I'd never actually gotten to see Hiccup attempt to train any dragon before, despite knowing much of his process. The Night Fury seemed reserved for a moment until it just barely nudged its snout against Hiccup's palm before backing away quickly, flying into the trees behind it. Hiccup remained in his spot, hand still in the air as he stared silently in the direction the dragon had flown into.