#lynn-writes

[laughtalelogs]

❄impossibilities - zoro x reader❄

❄ day 2 - little lie, trapped together in a snowstorm, “I thought you knew where you were going?!” ❄ fandom/character(s) - one piece - zoro x reader ❄ warnings - no beta reader, gn!reader, enemies to ???, forced proximity, implied sexual themes ❄ word count: 1.6k+ ❄ description - what happens when an unstoppable force, you, is crammed a tin can with an unmovable object, zoro? you both hate eachother's guts— that's what.

--

sorry this one is so late! today caught up with me bad. hope you enjoy, this one is actually complete this time too!

tomorrow is everyone's favorite lesbian, nami! I should have that one up timely, since it'll only be a small blurb.

check out the rest of the days here

The bitter cold was all consuming. The wind raged over the icy hills. Its whistling rang against the metal that shielded you from its burn. Snow pelted the foggy windshield in a thick layer of white, frost seeping into the cramped, humid caravan. You looked over at the man in front of you— well, what you could see, at least. 

Hunched over, his thick thighs squished against both walls. He made a poor attempt to find comfort as he spread his legs wide but preserved what distance he could from you.

Yet, your knees still knocked together. The polyester squeaked as you both tried to avoid contact. A green glow lit the dark silhouette of his brow bone and jaw. His scowl was clear, even in the dark. 

You rubbed your clammy, cold hands on your snowsuit. You weren't sure what made you more uncomfortable. It was a toss-up between the swordsman, your freezing feet, and the sweat rolling down your back, soaking your thin cotton shirt that insulated you like a sauna.  You didn’t know how long you could take this, and it seemed he was at his limit too.

“You do realize this is your fault?” His voice sliced through the stale, warm air, snapping his head up at you, voice leaking with annoyance. 

“I don’t control the weather, Zoro,” you bristle, avoiding his unwavering gaze.

You look behind at the console, the screen blinking an incessant warning on the panel: Warning, low temperatures detected. Return Brachio Mini to Franky immediately. 

"But you control this." He gestures at the broken panel.  “We could’ve been back by now.”

“I’m sorry I like to be thorough; you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” You snapped back, but a small ounce of guilt bangs in your chest. As if you didn’t already know that, you thought. It didn’t stop you from holding on to your sliver of pride.

“When has Nami ever been wrong?” He tried to adjust for the hundredth time with no luck.

You sighed. How did he know how to get under your skin and fester there? “It was just sunny outside! You even took a swim earlier,"

“Now I’ve got a stalker?” His lips curl in cruel amusement, making your eye twitch with anger.  “That still doesn’t answer the question.”

“Fine, Nami was right. that's what you want to hear?” you hiss between tight lips. "And she’s going to kill us if we don’t freeze to death. Or maybe the lack of oxygen will come first.”

He tilted his head. “So Nami is right, and I’m not?”

“Glad to see you have your priorities straight.” You can’t help how naturally your eyes roll into your skull. He always brushed off the danger, like an annoying fly. It was a mere inconvenience to the brute. While he sat there, calm and unwavered, you were trying to quell your racing pulse, worry eating away at your patience.  

“I’m not dying here, and neither are you. I told you I could open the hatch." His voice was soft but determined. You feel your chest burn. 

“And lose the heat? Are you stupid?” you grumbled.

“You’re the one worried about the air.” He shrugged.

“Yeah, and I’m also worried about freezing to death too. Say, do you have anything between your ears, or is it just a stand for your sword?”

“Ha. Ha. Ha.” He claps, each echoing off the tinny walls. You sit in silence, trying to calm down. 

"I only agreed to come because I knew you'd get lost." You repeat, fiddling with the transponder snail. Still, no signal. 

And that was something Zoro couldn’t argue with. He slanted his eyes down at you as you turned back toward him, crossing your arms over your chest. Silence enveloped you once more, thick with tension and aggravation. 

You could see it so clearly 3 hours ago. Zoro went off by himself on the island. He either got into trouble or got lost, causing it. With limited options, you knew tagging along was the better one. He never tried to see it from your angle, no matter how hard you would persist. You used to feel envious of this, how his troubles would roll off his shoulders like a duck sheds water. Now, you realize he lacks the brain to see the issue. 

With a voice laced in anger, he broke the silence once more. “Anyone else would’ve gotten us back to this ship now,”

“Beggars can’t be choosers,” you shoot back. “And I’m not anyone else.”

“You got that right,” he muttered, shifting as your knees knocked together again. You ignore the swift blow to your ego, pestering further. 

“So you rather Sanji?” 

“Please, don’t say that name right now; my head hurts enough with just you here.” 

"Answer my question, swords." You point your finger at his chest. The heat of his body radiates into your finger. He swats your hand away, rubbing the spot like it burned. 

“Both of you are annoying. One of you is lucky they're—" He paused, catching himself, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. You tilt your head, leaning closer in curiosity. 

"Never mind, this shit is stupid.” He trailed off, voice low as he avoided your gaze. His face twists between disgust and something else you can’t quite label; his eyes flicker away.

“No, finish your thought. Lucky? Lucky for what? And who?”

“I’m not doing this with you right now.. You're impossible.” He groaned, rubbing his temples. “Let me try to fix it; we’re losing daylight.”

You stared at him. “And do what exactly? I don’t think you can slash yourself out of this one.”

He looked up at the ceiling, hands reflexively thumbing the swords jutting at his hip. “That’s not a bad idea, actually.” 

You scoffed. “You can’t be serious.” 

“As a heart attack. Move.” He grabbed your shoulder, standing up, hunched over with a hand gripping Wado. You dug your heels in and leaned back. 

“No.” You glare at him, ignoring how his frame folded over yours. You sink further into the chair to avoid his gaze. His legs slot into yours awkwardly. “I won't let you ruin our only way back.” 

“And I’m not going to listen to your constant whining anymore. Move.” He grips tighter on your shoulder, eyes boring into you, unreadable. “Now.” 

“I won’t, asshole!” you seethe, but you’re losing your bite as he dips his head down, slamming a hand down behind you in frustration.

“ I have had it up to here, with you. You can’t control everything.” He whispered tersely, eyes searching yours for the answer.

"I don’t,” you whispered back. 

“Then why have you insisted on doing everything? There’s no I in team.”

You try to deflect, picking at your sleeve. “I’m surprised you can spell."

He rumbled your name, and you looked at him, eyes serious. The green highlights his small, pouting mouth. It reflects pretty shimmers off his earrings, which sway with his movements.  His grip on your shoulder loosened as he loomed down, his face impossibly close to yours. You feel his breath feather against your cheeks, warming your windburned skin. 

“Trust me, dammit..” His voice was low, not commanding, but pleading- a small tinge of frustration laced within his voice that left you wondering ‘trust you with what?’ 

The weight of heady legs pressed closer into yours. You freeze.

 ...Was he?

 You watch his eyes soften as his eyes dart across your face. For a brief moment, he eyes your chapped lips, his own twitching into something too tender, too vulnerable to be meant for you. You were rendered silent, trying to steel your legs from squeezing his toned leg between them.  this must be some cruel dream you were conjuring for yourself. But no, you both were here, breathing in each other's air, staring into each other's eyes for what felt like eternity. You feel your body buzz with the palpable energy left suspended in the air. 

Before your brain can catch up with your thoughts, you exhale sharply, lips forming a soft ‘o’. You were unable to back further away, feeling yourself pulled in by his gravity. He couldn’t be... Could he? 

But then- 

Sharp metal and glass clash violently after Zoro swiftly unsheathes Wado, stabbing the panel behind you. You scream and jolt forward, tumbling into Zoro’s chest as he falls back, sparks whizzing in the air. The interior groans and spurts, before suddenly, the engines whirs with purpose. The lights of the cabin flicker on, and the power levels itself out again.

“What the hell was that?!” You jump out of Zoro’s arms, pushing away the arm he had wrapped around your waist. You can see the way his cheeks are dusted red, but he leaned back, sheathing the sword. 

“I fixed it. See what happens when we can trust each other,” He smiled.

You look at him incredulously. He was stupid, but not braindead.“That wasn’t trust! that was- you- you tricked-”

“What did you think was going to happen? I’m not that easy.” He smirked and you feel embarrassment eat away at whatever nerves you have left.  He did know what affect that had on you, and seemed to relish it. 

“I’ll kill you with my barehands,”

“Why don’t you just get us home instead?” He juts his chin to the panel.

You try to calm your shot nerves for a moment to think, reaching at whatever remnants of the panel to carry yourselves back home. You needed to be far away from him, as soon as possible. Your hands twitch as you try to retrace the land, snow melting slowly off the windshield. 

You worry on your bottom lip.  Great. 

“I... I think we’re lost.” You force the words out of your mouth, defeat weighing you down.

“I thought you knew where you were going?!” He yelled behind you in exsperation.

"Uh.. yeah, my bad."

Maybe you were a little impossible.

and legends say they are still in the snow, battling their sexual tension, frozen in time lol.

hope you enjoyed this! If you can't tell I like when zoro is mad at you lol. Sorry if the end is a bit rushed :')

ngl I highkey wouldn't mind making a pt.2 to this with MAYBE some smut- but forewarning, i’m rusty asf. if you would want one, let me know! this was definitely supposed to be longer, but I thought it'd be cute leaving it off here.

If you enjoy that, check out my other stuff (x)

[laughtalelogs]

I will be participating, I think! I can't promise all days, but I think this will help me work on my writing. I'll make a preview post when I have had time to think about it

Join us in the 2024 12 Days of Christmas Challenge as we hope to spread a little ✨holiday joy and cheer✨ through the magic of writing fanfiction & creating art!

About & Rules

The challenge will run from December 13-24, 2024.

The challenge is open to any and all fandoms.

Submissions must include at least one of the prompts for that day but can combine two, three, or all four.

Prompts for the day always include: a word/words, a scenario, a quote, a "famous" quote (taken from songs and movies)

Tag your submissions with #12daysofchristmas2024 and/or mention this blog so that we will be notified to reblog your submissions here. (Also, it would be super cool if you gave this blog a follow!)

Submissions for the day must be posted before midnight YOUR time. We're not super hard-and-fast about this rule, but posting within time is very much appreciated! 

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2024 Prompts

Day 1 ❄️ First snow ❄️ Getting soaked ❄️ “Your hands are so cold.” ❄️ “I suppose it all started with the snow.” —Frosty the Snowman

Day 2 ❄️ Little lie ❄️ Trapped together in a snowstorm ❄️ “I thought you knew where you were going?!” ❄️ “I don’t know what to say, but it’s Christmas, and we’re all in misery.” —National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Day 3 ❄️ Accelerated heartbeat ❄️ Kissing in the snow ❄️ “Here, take my coat.” ❄️ “Let's hope the snow will make this Christmas right.” —Queen

Day 4 ❄️ Mulled wine ❄️ Playing board games ❄️ “I have no regrets.” ❄️ “Cheer up, dude. It's Christmas.” —How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 2000

Day 5 ❄️ Cookies ❄️ Holiday-themed contest ❄️ “That definitely looks… interesting?” ❄️ “That is exactly why you want a high-quality fire extinguisher right in the kitchen.” —The Santa Clause

Day 6 ❄️ Present ❄️ Making a new Christmas tradition ❄️ “Not another Christmas movie!” ❄️ “You say you hate Washington’s birthday or Thanksgiving, and nobody cares, but you say you hate Christmas, and people treat you like you’re a leper.” —Gremlins

Day 7 ❄️ Decorations ❄️ A little accident ❄️ “I was just trying to help!” ❄️ “I want my house to be seen from space.” —Deck The Halls

Day 8 ❄️ Touch starved ❄️ Telling secrets around the fire ❄️ “Sometimes the hardest part is forgiving yourself.” ❄️ “Santa, can't you hear me?” —Ariana Grande & Kelly Clarkson

Day 9 ❄️ Christmas fair/market ❄️ Late shopping (together) ❄️ “Hmm, this is actually not bad.” ❄️ “When you're still waiting for the snow to fall, doesn't really feel like Christmas at all.” —Coldplay

Day 10 ❄️ Surprise visit ❄️ Lighting scented candles ❄️ “I didn’t know you were here.” ❄️ “You’re skipping Christmas! Isn’t that against the law?” —Christmas with the Kranks

Day 11 ❄️ Fairy lights ❄️ Christmas party/ball ❄️ “I never want this night to end.” ❄️ “I won’t even wish for snow. And I’m just gonna keep on waiting, underneath the mistletoe.” —Mariah Carey

Day 12 ❄️ Feast ❄️ Indoor picnic by the tree/fireplace ❄️ “I baked your favourite cookie/pie/cake.” ❄️ “You are all I need tonight underneath the Christmas lights.” —Sia

Extra Challenge

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Wheel

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Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions! Also, feel free to share this post and help spread the joy and cheer!

Happy writing, and good luck 🍀

[quotefeeling]

I learned not to trust people; I learned not to believe what they say but to watch what they do. I learned to suspect that everyone is capable of living a lie. I came to believe that other people - even when you think you know them well - are ultimately unknowable.

Lynn Barber

[lynnsmix]

GHOST PIRATE *ੈ✩‧₊˚ h. haddock x reader

summary : snotlout mocking you for your eye scar might unintentionally be the best thing that could have happened to you.

word count : 7.3k words

tags : fluff, rtte!hiccup, fem!reader, friends to something more, awkward romance, falling-down-and-getting-catched cliché, first kisses, getting caught, reader has a scar on her right eye which she covers, reader is like gothi's assistant, reader isn't adept at social situations, reader is quite oblivious, one throwaway sex joke at the end, snotlout's a little aggressive but when is he not, no use of y/n or (name)

author's note : why are there such a shortage of rtte hiccup x reader's MAN i am thirsty for some :(( anyway, this was fun writing, rtte hiccup is my roman empire dreamworks did not need to make him that fine

Having that scar over your eye had always made you insecure. It wasn't just because it looked horrible, there were other reasons for that. One of them being that it was a reminder that your face wouldn't look that same again, always having that ugly patch.

The other grounds for it were the way that Vikings—also known as (pardon the bluntness) meatheads with a hard comprehension for being. . . particularly emotionally adept—didn't know how to mask their emotions, and that the only expression that would grace their face when they see you was always in pitiful smiles, and more often than not, thinly masked disgust.

You would think that now that Berkian's learned to be in peace with literal Dragons, they'd also learn to be more emotionally sensitive, but you'd guess wrong.

But going back to Dragons. Those big, ferocious creatures had always made you antsy. Especially when you were younger—with all the ghost-stories that the kids would always rumor around, and the dead-man's tales that the older people in Berk would sing about in the Great Hall, it had given you the chills. You were all too scared by them.

Maybe a bit too scared.

A bit too scared that when you were mature enough—mature being sixteen years old—to be ordered to fight them off in one of their ambushes before they were domesticated, all those anecdotes and tales fled back to you, making your legs tremble then go stiff.

With the opening you had given it, one of the vicious reptiles had tried to bite your face clean off. Without Gothi's help—or more like her trusty staff and her good swing—you were sure you would've died.

But still, after all these years, you aren't too sure if that was a good thing. Now you're left with a wound that would never go away, a timeless reminder that you were frightened, and you didn't do anything to protect yourself.

A unaging memento of weakness.

It was all too much for a teenager like yourself, always being perceived as a poor soul, seen as an unfortunate example for Vikings that not thinking fast enough would wind up to look like you.

So, you did what all teenagers do when they didn't want to confront something—you hide it away. And that's exactly why you're wearing an eyepatch, well—a makeshift one, thanks to Gothi, who made you a simple cloth eyepatch. Gods bless her soul.

You looked more like an injured survivor, but it was better than people seeing you like you were some kind of weirdo—as if walking around with an eyepatch wasn't any less weird, but the Vikings found it less odd.

But still, jeers from your age group didn't cease. They lessened, but the subject topic of their jokes had shifted. From you being too weak of a Viking—if you could still call yourself a Viking—to being name called as a pirate. All of it just made you more inclined to stay inside.

Well, it was better than being mocked as weak, so you take that as a win.

And that's how it's currently been now, with you in the Great Hall, and with your exceptionally unfortunate luck, the only table vacant being next to a group of teenagers.

Oh, It's those Dragon Riders.

You haven't seen them in a while—you've presumed it was because they were busy at some place that you overheard them calling Dragon's Edge. But even with the lengthened time of not seeing them, you still remembered their names. They probably didn't know yours, but you didn't mind.

You were never really close to them, not that you bothered to be close—you didn't ever see yourself being in their circle, but you had hoped they didn't have the same reactions to you like the others when they notice you eating at the table next to theirs.

You wished they didn't sense your presence; or more specifically your eyepatch concealing your scar, but when they did notice, their hushed dialogue—is it still called hushed dialogue if you're talking this loudly?—had shifted to you, and who you were.

"She's pretty odd, when I first saw her, I thought she was supposed to be a pirate." You had heard Snotlout's voice boom from their friend's table next to your empty one. Even without looking at the Viking, you could already tell from the dripping ignorance in his voice that he was smiling, as if he was proud that he had called you that.

You didn't care enough to turn your head, just continuing to shovel food in your mouth, but you had heard a clear thonk! of wood hitting something metalic—you'd presume a mug making hard contact with his helmet.

"Ow." The boy whined.

"Sorry, my arm cramped." Astrid had apologized, with the tone of not being apologetic at all.

"Snotlout." You had heard Hiccup's voice warn his cousin. Even if Hiccup tried to warn him, it would be fruitless, because you knew Vikings like Snotlout—and Vikings like him didn't stop with just warnings. But still, the gesture had still made you smile.

"What? It's just strange, y'know? She barely talks too, like some kind of ghost."

"Snotlout, drop it." Now Astrid was trying to make him stop. You wanted to thank her for that, but maybe not now.

"What if she's some kind of ghost pirate? Like, haunting our village." Ruffnut commented.

"I heard that you could ward off ghosts with salt," Tuffnut had added.

"Ooo, does it work with ghost pirates too?" Her twin had asked, curious.

"We'll have to test it out, like an experiment." The blonde boy had raised a finger, as if to look more academically inclined.

"Okay, guys, I don't think—" Hiccup's voice had seemed nervous, but he didn't get to finish.

"Cool, let's try it." The blonde girl had entertained. The twins had gotten the salt from a bowl, a handful in both their fists, ready to lob it at you.

This time, you were actually amused enough to look at their table, observing each face, but not letting a word out.

Somewhat surprised that you had looked at them, the two Vikings had tried to cover up their mischief, one of them putting the salt in their mouth, and the other throwing it behind them, evidently covering Fishlegs and Hiccup in a good sprinkle of seasoning.

You were quite confused—more so, a bit peeved that Snotlout was talking about you like that, but you didn't pay attention to it too much. Turning back to your food, they seemed to match your actions as well—but not with Snotlout getting the last word in, albeit a little bit whispered, but not enough to be quiet.

"See? I'm just saying; no talking, no expression—Ghost behavior, I tell you." Snotlout leaned into the table to whisper, but it really did seem futile with that loud mouth of his.

Not wanting to hear any more of his or anyone else’s slight mockery, you stood up, the long bench chair you were sitting on skidding as you push out of your sitting position and walking out the Great Hall, but not before burning a glare at the teens.

You really didn’t mean to scowl at the whole table, you were only going to throw a dirty look at Snotlout.

It genuinely wasn't your intention to, especially with how the other teens had done nothing remotely wrong—some even trying to halt the discussion—but with just one eye as your vision, you couldn't help but just look at them all with a stink eye.

But you didn't care anymore, you just wanted to get away. You went to the Great Hall to eat for Thor's sake, not to be gossiped about like a spectacle. Stomping off to the exit, you didn't care enough to hear the scolding Snotlout and The Twins—but mainly just the sable-haired Viking—had to hear.

"Great job with that, Snotlout. Now she stormed off," Astrid chided.

"What did I do?"

"I think we should apologize, or one of us at least." Fishlegs meekly let out, finally speaking after the girl had walked out on all of them. All the while that this was happening, Ruffnut seemed to be spewing out the salt she'd hidden in her mouth at the side of the table, trying to blow raspberries to remove all of the saline taste from her mouth.

Astrid had looked to Hiccup, with them locking eyes. She had silently gestured for him, nodded to the door and her eyebrows raising, basically saying 'Dude, this is your chance, c'mon'. The brunet Viking had quickly understood, slightly nodding.

"Pretty sure you're right Fishlegs. I think I should catch up with her guys, she seemed pretty upset." Hiccup had already started to get up from his seat, starting to jog to the large door of the Great Hall.

They had watched him speed-walk away, hoping that he could reach her before he loses sight of her. The Dragon Riders had gone back to eating, with The Twins still trying to goof around, throwing their food at each other, and Fishlegs reading while scooping food to his mouth.

"I still don't understand what I said wrong," Snotlout had muttered, pushing his soup around in his bowl.

"Snotlout, I swear if you don't stop talking, I will hit you harder with my mug." Astrid threatened, who was right next to him.

"I thought you said that was an accident?"

"Keep talking and my fist will accidentally punch you."

You were speed walking with a tired expression on your face. You didn't even get to eat a lot of your food. Why did you have to storm off like that? You've endured much more scathing insults, but you suppose it hurt more that they were talking about you literally on the next table over. Now you're hungry and annoyed.

Just great.

You had almost made it to the ascending stairs, the way to Gothi's hut. You were about to go up before you heard someone try to call you, paired with the sound of quick pattering steps and the clanking of metal hitting the ground.

You presumed that it was Hiccup, since no one really had a metal leg in Berk, and that distinct voice he had that singled him out from the other Vikings. You looked over your shoulder before turning your whole body, seeing him catch up with you before putting his hands on his knees in exhaustion.

"Hey! Wait a sec—wow you can walk really fast," He uttered between breaths.

". . . Uh, hi?" You were entirely unsure of what to say. You'd never been in this type of situation before.

He had dusted his knees off and stood normally, his exhaustion finally subsiding, he waved awkwardly.

"Hey there, I wanted to apologize—Snotlout's just, he's the type of guy that just. . . says things, y'know? Don't take it too seriously," He shrugged.

"Don't be sorry, it's fine," You waved him off, dismissed his apology, and turned back to walk up the stairs. But your ascension up had been paused, especially with what Hiccup said.

"No, it's not, actually. Please just let me apologize about him, 'cause I know he won't."

"I assure you, it's fine." You insisted, but it genuinely wasn't. But you didn't want someone trying to apologize to you for someone else's actions.

You had tried to walk up quicker, but he seemed just fine matching your pace.

"At least just— let me accompany you up to Gothi's hut, as an apology of sorts. . .? Please?" Hiccup seemed to be unsure in what he was saying, you were 100 times confident that he didn't plan what he was saying to you, just blurting out what came to his mind to stop you from leaving him in the dust.

You found it amusing, so you allowed it. Now, he was walking with you up to Gothi's.

But what you didn't find amusing—was him trying to make small talk. The other people at Berk never really tried making dialogue with you, but maybe that's also your fault, with how jaded and distant you seemed from them. The only time they ever talked to you was to voice their concerns about their health and ask you to help them.

So now here you were, trying to reply as normal as possible to Hiccup's questions.

"Are you uh— hurt anywhere?"

"Huh?" Your steps slowed, with Hiccup matching yours.

Then you understood what he meant. He was asking if you were injured because you were going up to Gothi's. Your steps had paced normal again, with Hiccup trying to match your steps.

"Ooh, no. I'm just her assistant. . . I think so? It's not official, but it's kind of like that, I guess. I take care of the hurt patients who come up here if she's away."

"Oh, that's cool."

"Uh-huh. . ." You replied, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

"You stay up there a lot, right? I don't see you a lot anymore." He smiled a little.

Anymore?

You didn't want to interrupt this casual dialogue, so you reply normally.

"Uh, yeah, I— I do. I pretty much moved all my stuff there so the others wouldn't see me much. Surprisingly, not everyone wants to see this," You pointed at your eyepatch.

"Really?" Hiccup listened, the way he looked so focused on you made you want to say things even more.

"Yeah, who knew? I guess not everyone wants to see a hideous scar when they go on to do their morning jobs. Crazy, right?" Your sarcasm was dripping from your voice, but you went on even more.

"It's not even exposed anymore, I covered it, but they're still weirded out. I'm pretty sure this time they're the weird ones at this point." Your arms had raised in action, expressive as ever.

Hiccup's hums of agreement and gentle smile had spurred you on even more to rant. You weren't sure what it was—maybe it's because finally someone had wanted to listen and look at you like a normal person, not some pitiful weak Viking.

"Might as well just bandage my whole face so they don't see me. I think I should change my eyepatch if they're still feeling odd about me, maybe that's it, I dunno. . . I don't really have the skill for it, though." You had shrugged.

"But I swear, if they still look at me funny when I do wear something else, I think I'll just give up and accept my title as a ghost pirate and haunt our village—just like your friends were saying." You looked at him, concluding your rant. Hiccup softly chuckled at your attempt at a joke, and it made you heart smile.

You both were almost at your mentor's porch when he went silent, as if he was thinking of something. Just a couple of steps left, and you were there. You were pretty satisfied with how you both weren't speaking, just a soft, gentle tranquility accompanying both of you.

But then, Hiccup had piped up.

"Well. . . If you were, let's just say, hypothetically; you had the chance to change it, what would it look like?"

You were puzzled by the random question. Was he trying to entertain you? You looked at him, and looked away in thought, before going back to look at green observant eyes.

"Well hypothetically speaking; I guess I'd make it out of leather with something to cushion it inside? That way it wouldn't really hurt on my skin." You had mused, your steps slowing as you had made it to the last step of your mentor's stairs.

"And maybe some kind of design on it? I feel like it would look nice if I put our tribe's insignia, I'm not sure, but maybe just something. . ." Your eyebrows furrowed in focus, your thumb rubbing against the pads of your fingers, a habit that helped you to think.

"Nice-looking, I guess. Maybe it'd take attention away from. . . Yeah." Your body went lax, feeling kind of shy. You realized you were getting too into it, remembering it was just a hypothetical question.

"Well, I'll be sure to remember that." He didn't seem mind one bit, that you went on a whole speech, and just smiled back at your timid stature. You didn't know what he meant by what he said, but you smiled back at him anyway.

You had made it to the top. He had paused a step before you, now slightly looking up at you. You had turned around, fiddling with your hands.

"So. . ." You didn't really know what to say next. See you around? Does this make us friends? Your apology's accepted? You weren't really prepared to being put in a social situation like this. Well, you weren't prepared for any social situation for that, with how little you talked with others, but anyway.

Thankfully, Hiccup had spoke, because you were sure if you had enough silence, you'd just end up saying something silly.

"I'll see you, around then. . .?" He had gone up the last step so he could be at your height, and rubbed the nape of his neck, waiting for your reply.

"Uhm— yeah! Thank you, by the way— for the. . . Coming with me, I— I guess," You sputtered, but had recovered, a soft grin with crinkled eyes lay on your face.

"I'll be going now. . . Yep," You pointed behind you and started to walk backwards, hopefully reaching Gothi's door. But that plan would fall flat when you tripped over some stray bottle that had fallen from the table.

"Woah!"

The split second you had before you fell you saw from your peripheral that if you stumbled just a little bit more, you'd fall off the tower.

Just incredible, what a way to go.

You closed your eyes, ready for the impact of the air hitting you as you fall down, but you were surprised to feel a weight jump on you, tackling you to inches away from to edge.

"Umph!" Hiccup's voice had jolted out.

You open your eyes in caution; to see Hiccup lying on you, his head tucked in your neck. You were close—a little too close. You can smell his scent, the way his breathing pattern was heavy from lunging at you, his hair which seemed messy and unkempt from flying, but he still managed to make it look good.

"Gothi should really add a safety railing," He mumbled into your neck. It gave you goosebumps.

You expected yourself to be weirded out, but you weren't. You were just flustered, now thinking about it. Hiccup practically glomped you—yes, to safety, but that wasn't the point—and you were both stuck in this position, with the Dragon Rider still lying on you.

You supposed he felt how tense you were—assuming you felt odd in the position you were in and tried to prop himself up with his hand.

"Oh! Yeah sorry," Unintentionally, he had grabbed your waist in support, maybe a wee bit hard, earning him a surprised oh! from you.

Realizing his mistake, he let go immediately, as if he had touched a hot furnace. But given that it was his only means of support to give him balance, him letting go had consequently made him fall onto you again, his head almost meeting yours, but missing.

But what didn't miss though, was his lips falling onto your cheek. It felt surreal, something you've never experienced—a kiss, happening literally right before your eyes. Accidental, yes, but it still made you blush furiously. But it seems as if he didn't notice, or chose not to, picking your comfort first.

"Oh Thor, sorry about that, let me just," Hiccup tried to get up again, his hand already trying to prop itself on the floor, but you stopped him, grabbing his forearm.

"No, just— just stay still. I'll move instead." He nodded bashfully at your request, you guess he also felt nervous feeling the gravity of the position you're in.

You nudged his leg with your own, so he could move it up, and then you maneuvered yourself out.

You both stand up, dusting yourself off while he fixed his tunic that went askew when he was laying on you.

"She really should add a railing," You reply.

"Yeah,"

Again, a calm silence had covered you both, a lingering of eyes at each other, observing the latter.

You didn't want to keep him longer, maybe he was busy. So, you sent him off.

"Now this is officially 'i'll see you later'." You threw finger guns at him as you shyly grinned and waved, the gestures reciprocated by the brunet Viking, before you went into Gothi's hut, the last glimpse of him walking down the stairs before you closed the door.

You smile to yourself as you look at the door, before leaning your head on it. You placed a delicate hand on your right cheek, where his lips had accidentally placed themselves on.

First kiss. Cheek kiss, yeah, but who cares?

Your smile grew wide as you quietly chuckled. If anyone saw you right now, they'd probably think you were being weird—well, weirder. But you were in the comforting silence of Gothi's hut, with no one to perceive you.

Turning around, you swear you has actually jumped out of your skin, your joyous expression replaced with one of shock.

"GAH! Gothi, you. . ." You clenched your heart, before trying to even your heartbeat.

"Really need to make a sound so I know you're there. I almost died," Your hand had dropped back down. You were exaggerating clearly, Gothi knew that as well, rolling her eyes. She had gotten off the stool she was on and nodded to the door, walking up to you.

Having enough time spent with the old woman, you already knew she was gesturing for you to ask what happened out there.

"Oh, I just tripped over a bottle, I almost fell down the tower, y'know? Hiccup was there with me too; he was apologizing for something Snotlout did." You had explained, a smile had graced your face when you brought the Dragon Rider up.

"I didn't want him to apologize, but he insisted, so he accompanied me up here. So, back to me falling—He helped me so I wouldn't fall from the tower, he practically lunged at me. He's pretty. . . nice. He's got a nice smile, too. I haven't seen him or the others in a while, it was a nice change. Anyway," You had walked over to the shelf of books the hut had, trying to find a book on botany to brush up your knowledge. You were trying to focus, looking at the titles on the spines of the books, before you felt Gothi stare at you, a knowing stare paired with a growing smile as if she was teasing you.

You looked back to meet her gaze and smiled innocently.

"Okay, What?" You had giggled, as if you didn't know. But you knew she was teasing you. Maybe you really shouldn't have talked about him like you were crushing on him.

Not that you weren't.

Gothi raised her eyebrow, still grinning at her assistant, not believing it for a second.

"He's just a friend, Gothi—a passerby, even. Nothing more." You concluded, busying yourself with actually finding the book, and you eventually did. Pulling the book out with a swift motion before going to a vacant chair on her dining table, opening to a random page to read with the book close to your face, trying to remain as unaffected as possible.

Gothi had seemed let it go, coming up to her student and patting her head, a comforting habit they had grown to enjoy in the comfort of her home.

The Viking healer had gone up the stairs, supposedly to feed the Terrible Terrors. Once she was out of your peripheral vision, you had leaned back on the back of the seat, book covering a quarter of your face as you looked up to the ceiling.

What the Thor just happened?

You tried to recall the latest events that had occurred with the brunet boy, looking back to the most memorable parts—well, most memorable to you.

You replay the moment where you both had accidentally were on the floor, especially the events after that. Your cheeks were going flush as you naturally smiled, the book being your cover, your eyes closing as you replay the moment.

He seemed like someone you'd like to be seeing more often. What was it about him that made you so. . . allured? You only had one meeting together, but why did you feel so pulled to him?

Was it because this was one of the only normal conversations that someone had treated you like a human being? No, you already felt like that with Gothi, but it was something else.

You wouldn't deny that Hiccup was. . . For a lack of better words, an attractive dude. He grew in well, his height really elevating him, paired with his babyface growing more chiseled, evolving him from a cute and charming boy who was also quite handsome.

But just because you liked him now for that, doesn't mean you didn't have a crush on him before. It was before every one had actually believed in him.

You'd watch from afar as he courageously proven his worth, showing that he is so much more than what the village painted him to be. He was. . . really cute back then too. And the way he was sarcastic and witty, you liked that as well. You would never tell him back then about it, and you probably never tell him now.

Sighing into the book, you shake your head in disapproval.

What am I thinking? I need to read this, not think about him like some kind of lovesick yak.

You sit upright now, actually retaining the information of the contents in the book, but not before putting an imaginary tab in your thoughts to revisit the subject about the brunet Viking.

"Gothi told me you needed my help?" You stick your head in first, peeking inside before going in fully. Walking into the Blacksmith's Shop, you saw Hiccup, working away at some new invention for him and Toothless.

He had turned to you, his eyes slightly crinkling with a satisfied smile.

"Yeah, I do," He walked some steps to where the tools had been stored, and pulled out something you couldn't tell what it was, his body covering the tool.

He faced you again, before speaking.

"C'mere." He spoke quickly, now unraveling the hidden object—a measuring tape.

Huh?

"What? Hiccup, what are you doing?" You asked, tiredness coating your voice, crossing your arms and tilting you head slightly.

"I need to measure you. Now, come here." He beckoned again, gesturing to you to come closer. He had put more pressure in the command, but smiling gently to not look like he was trying to be domineering—not to say you didn't like it.

You had rolled your eyes playfully, dropping your arms and marching up to him, a little too close, your chest just mere inches apart.

But he didn't tell you to step back.

"Measure me for what?" You shrugged in confusion, but he didn't answer your question, he just gave you another request.

"Stay still, okay?" Without another beat, he hovers both arms on your shoulders. If his arms were a little lower, placed on the curve of your shoulder. But you wouldn't mind. You imagined that they looked like they would fit there. As if it was in its rightful place.

Fiddling with the measuring tape to get the right side, he instinctively leaned into the side, hovering over your face. You observed him, your eyes following his face as he was working, a little too observed—you'd say yourself, noticing the scattered freckles kissed on his face, the small cut a few inches under his lips.

You never noticed he had a scar on his chin; it looked quite cute.

A little shocked—more like flustered—you had lifted your head an inch, as a means to back away. He noticed, halting his movements and looking you in the eyes.

Locking eyes with his, those eyes. Oh, his eyes. They enraptured you; like the gentle breath of the air hitting your skin, the viridescent irises, dull like olives, yet alluring as much.

His gaze was on you, before grazing over your features—the way your cheeks were flushed presumably from the heat of the Blacksmith's Shop, the slow fluttering of your eyelashes as you blinked as if you were being cautious, and then your lips.

It was only for a brief moment, but as you saw his eyes glance down, your lips parted in bewilderment. He seems to have caught on, blinking quickly, slightly pursing his lips in struggle, and turning his head back to the job at hand.

The soft material of the measuring tape had wrapped around the circumference of your head, Hiccup looking as if he took a mental note, before changing the angle of the measuring tape, diagonally over your head, from the side of your head all the way to under your ear.

After finishing, he lets go of the measuring tape, and his arms drop down to his sides.

"Well. . .?" You tilted your head slightly, your arms crossing once more. It was a pass at him, as if to reignite your previous questions, hoping he understood the memo.

Rest assured he did not understand the memo.

"Well, that was it. Thanks." Shooting you a soft smile, before turning around to put what he was using back to its rightful place, before looking at you with a grin.

If Hiccup wasn't so charmingly cute with the sheepish simper of his and if he was just like all the other Vikings, you would have hit him with the closest thing in your vicinity.

Ignore the first part of your thought, you weren't supposed to be thinking about that right now.

Instead of going for the gruesome part of that pondering, you close your eyes in slight irritation.

"So, let me get this straight; you order Gothi to call me, you lie and say that you needed my help, make me walk all the way down the stairs, just to measure me?"

"Okay, I know it sounds bad right now—" Hiccups quick to defend himself, his hands raising as if to show innocence.

"More like weird, but sure," You add.

"But I swear," His arms extend to you, grabbing your shoulders delicately. It felt nice, being treated like that from him.

"It will make sense tomorrow." He squeezed your shoulders in assurance, hoping you'd believe him. It didn't make you believe him, more like make your brain short circuit that would force you to say the only thing you knew how to.

"Just trust me, okay?" He looked like a puppy, asking its owner to pet him. He looked genuine, as if he wasn't capable of treating you brashly, only carefully.

Not being able for your mind to process anything else but him clutching you on each side, combined with the way his eyes kissed your gaze, you replied with an unfocused agreement.

"O— Okay," You smile at his kind eyes, his own lips reciprocating.

And that's where it ended. You didn't really remember exiting the shop, or walking back, just laying yourself on the bed, the cushion of your pillow the only thing bringing you out of your trance.

You still couldn't understand why he brought you all the way down just to measure your head, but you didn't want to complain—nope, scratch that. You didn't have the mind to complain.

Maybe it's 'cause of your teenage brain, the hormones in your mind thinking about boys, the most decent one out of them, your head full of him even when he wasn't there. Yes, just science, definitely because of that.

But then your thought floats back to the previous events; his gaze on yours, looking at your facial features, before going to your lips, then going back again to his work, slightly flushed on his cheeks from the heat of the Forge.

You smile at the thought.

Yep, just hormones.

"Just keep having your eyes— uh, eye closed," Hiccup had almost tripped over himself trying to drag you up the stairs with your vision blocked, especially since you were just walking aimlessly in the direction he was leading you to.

"If this is something stupid again and you're measuring my arm's next, Hiccup, I will throw something at you." Your one hand was still covering you left eye, with the other holding his hand.

That snark from you didn't earn an eyeroll from him, but a soft chuckle.

"I promise it's not,"

You wanted to smile, the feeling of his fingertips brushing against yours felt sparking, and the way he squeezed them when in assurance that he was still there made you melt, but you didn't want to focus on that right now.

"Okay, we're here." You feel the terrain under your feet change, the stone clacking on your boots now turning soft, dampened. You suppose he took you inside somewhere.

"That was good, but we're going to have to go up the stairs again, okay?"

Getting tired of this whole charade, you finally let down your hand.

"Okay, Hiccup, what are we. . ."

That was as far as you could get in your sentence, your attention now focused on the location you were in.

It seemed to be the Chief's hut, where Hiccup and Stoick reside, and you were at the front of the stairs. You've never been in here, but with the small bits and pieces you've seen from the moment the door was wide open, you could pinpoint that he had took you here.

"No wait I—" He had panicked, the other hand that was free going behind him.

"Why are we here. . .?" You questioned as you looked at him, and then the hand behind his back.

"And what's behind you?" You tilted your head, trying to take a peek at what he was hiding, but he just shuffled back to hide it more.

"Nothing, my hand's just cramping, y'know. . .?" He laughed, and that was definitely what made you believe he was lying, your face going deadpan.

"Hiccup." Your tone had gone into a warning, arms crossed, and your eyebrow raised.

Looking at you once more to check if there was a sliver of a chance that you'd let it go, he sighed, his shoulders dropping. He slowly let his hand out, with something in his fist.

"It was supposed to be a surprise in my room where it's private, but I guess it still is secluded here."

He opened his palm and presented it to you.

An eyepatch. It was crafted from leather, a nice sleek brown color, with a star-like embossing, reminding you of the stars of a compass. Turning the eyepatch around, you see a soft fabric, supposed to cushion around the eyepatch to prevent harsh rubbing on the skin. You turned it around and examined it more as he talked again.

"I tried to make it to what you wanted—"

You lifted your head and looked at him, then to the side in thought as you recalled what he was talking about. He was listening that time. He was taking account of your ideas, and he was actually listening to you.

You were silent and turned your eyes back at him as he explained more.

"If you don't— If you don't like it. . . I can make it again," He mistook your silence for disgust, and rubbed his arm in nervousness.

"Hiccup, no," You stepped closer to him, and took both his hands in yours, the eyepatch forgotten about as you held it between his hands.

"I like it." Your grin grew as his face had started to contort into relief.

"Y— You do?" He was smiling now, and that just made you giggle.

"Yes, I do!" You couldn't contain what you felt, and clutched his hands in yours in assurance, earning you a small kiss of red on his cheeks as he smiled back.

"I like it so much, I could kiss— kiss you. . ." Your joyous face had contorted into horror, your eyes avoiding his immediately, with your voice weakening at the last part when you realize what you just said.

Hiccup's face had also matched yours, but not horror, with shock. Like something he could've never expected came out of your mouth.

"What?" He uttered. His face was unreadable, but that just made you all the more upset.

"Sorry, that was. . . weird. I'll go, " You dismissed yourself quickly and had immediately let go of the hold of his hands, but he had immediately snatched them back in his grasp.

The unexpected action had made your troubled face look to him, and you were surprised to see his painted with worry and panic.

"Don't go, okay? I wouldn't. . ." He hesitated with his choice of words, making you curious.

"You wouldn't. . .?" You waited for him to say what he wanted patiently, but what he said made your shoulders go lax, relieved.

"I said I wouldn't. . . mind," He mumbled the last word, but you heard it loud and clear. It felt confusing, but you were happy nonetheless trying to put the pieces together.

He wouldn't mind. . . Kissing you?

It gave your stomach literal flutters, as if multiple Night Terrors had taken refuge in there, flying about.

You didn't want to assume, you wanted him to say it.

"What?" You acted oblivious, a smile gracing your face.

"I said I wouldn't mind," He muttered it with more confidence, but still with a tad bit of hesitance.

"You. . . Wouldn't mind what?" Your eyebrows furrowed in faux confusion.

He sighed in slight irritation, but he felt like he was being teased this time.

"Do I really have to say it all, out loud?" He said with deadpan, and you nodded eagerly, the mask of confusion pulled off.

He held your hands and pulled you closer, his eyes meeting your gaze. He understood now that you were just acting confused.

"I wouldn't mind you kissing me, okay?" He smiled, and you mirrored him, slightly laughing and nodding.

"You get it now? I even said it all out loud for you—"

He was cut off, the feeling of your lips on his had made his voice die in his throat, with his eyes fluttering close. You didn't plan it, but the way he looked in the light of the nearby crackling fire had graced his had made him look so. . . Kissable. You couldn't help it.

You stayed in that position for a few seconds, before you pulled away, his hands still intertwined with yours.

"I get it now, crystal clear." You taunted, a grin and a small breathy chuckle leaving you.

But he didn't reply, only a smile expressing that he was as happy as you. Before you could say anything else, he pulled you in again. One hand leaving yours to cradle your cheek.

This kiss lasted longer, and you both pulled away only mere inches to see each other. The way you both looked ecstatic, your grins and crinkled eyes looking at each other, as if you could stay with him forever.

But this moment didn't last forever, with the door suddenly bursting open, revealing Hiccup's burly, large, and intimidating father, Stoick and seeing the rather incriminating position you both were put in.

You immediately pulled away from each other, as if you both were the same polarity of a magnet, trying to cover yourselves up and salvage what was left of both your dignities.

"So, thanks Hiccup for. . . Helping me with that—" Dusting yourselves off as you went to the door to exit, Hiccup trailing behind you.

"Yeah, it's fine, it wasn't a big deal—" He waved you off.

"I really should go now, I think Gothi's calling me right about now. . . Oh, hi Chief, didn't see you there. . .!" You quickly greet, your pitch going a bit higher as you scurry out of the space between the Chief and the doorway.

Stoick had greeted you, a gruff 'Hello' sufficing and finally moving so his son could follow you up to the porch of the door, watching the whole scene unravel.

You had started walking away, but not before looking back and waving goodbye.

"Uhm— goodbye, Hiccup," You smiled as you waved, your cheeks flushed from the embarrassment and the heat of the moment that had just happened.

Hiccup wasn't looking too good either, his freckled face slightly kissed with red, his grin a little dopey, weakly waving back.

You had made it far enough from the hut that you were alone with your thoughts.

What just happened?

You couldn't comprehend where a lot of it came from, but you knew one thing, and it made you giddy;

This was the blooming start of something new between you two.

BONUS ⋆˚✿˖°

Today was one of the best days of Hiccup's life—he kissed you, the girl he had a crush on his whole teenage life, and you like him. You actually liked him back.

And not just being one of the best days of his life, but some of the rarest; as the patriarch of the household, Stoick the Vast, had surprisingly ate with his son at supper.

The dinner table was filled with wood clunking against each other and mouth's chewing, not wanting to address the large Bewilderbeast in the room, until it was interrupted by Stoick's rough voice.

"So, how's your girlfriend son?"

Hiccup had choked on the soup that was in his mouth, coughing quite violently.

"Dad— that wasn't— We aren't—" Hiccup tried to let out his defense, but the soup still in his throat had made it all the more harder, punching his chest to speak properly.

"It's okay, son, I understand," Stoick had put a hand in defeat.

"You're at the right age already, and I shouldn't stop you," His father shrugged, and Hiccup didn't have the energy to defend himself anymore, just letting his old man talk all he wanted to until it ended.

But what his father said next made him jump up to talk, immediately wanting this to end.

"But I guess it's time I should teach you this now son," He put a hand on his son's shoulder in affirmation.

"About fornication— or birds and the bees, whatever they call it now," He finished.

Yep, Hiccup might just implode inside right now.

He groaned and covered his ears.

"Okay, Dad, it's fine—"

"I know it won't happen, son— You're a responsible, young Viking, but all the more reason to tell you. What if something happens?" His father ignored his pleas as he shrugged.

"Okay, Dad, I think you should stop." Now covering his eyes, because he cannot believe what is actually happening right now, he lets out a big sigh as he gives up, letting his father rant about being 'safe' and knowing the 'responsibility' of their actions.

He thought of something else to let his mind wander, and it eventually led to you. He smiled under his hands, but it wasn't enough to drown out his father's lecture.

"But I know when you do, you'd be a great parent, son—" Hiccup cut his father off, groaning at him.

"Oh, Dad. . ." A tired tone lacing his voice.

But he didn't mind, because all of this happened because you kissed him. And he wouldn't take it for anything else.

Well, maybe exclude the 'birds and the bees' talk he already knew well about.

He was a teenager, after all.

lmao W for stoick tryna teach hiccup about safe sex lol, anyway hope you enjoyed this as much as i enjoyed writing it :3

tell me if you liked it in the comments, i love getting replies on my work ♡⸜(˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝

anyway, peace out guys 𖹭.ᐟ

[purrassicjet]

After the events of Junior Year, Fig releases a single called "Complicated". It baffles Cig Figs fans because there was no announcement, just a quiet release. It's also very different from her usual stuff, with a more folksy vibe and only one instrument, an acoustic guitar. It's clear Fig is singing, but she's never been known to play an acoustic guitar.

The song sings of being a teenage adventurer in a world much bigger than yourself, of older men and broken dreams, of mothers and daughters, of betrayal and of new life. Another voice joins Fig's for the last chorus ("I don't want to be perfect, I just want to be complicated" (which is changed from the usual words "I wanna be perfect, but it's all so complicated")), but nobody can figure out who it is.

Fig isn't making it easier to figure out. She never plays the song live, and when asked about who the mysterious other people (the guitarist and the second vocalist) are, she just waves it off with a laugh and says that said person would rather remain anonymous.

It continues to confuse fans until one night, around the middle of Fig's set at a big concert, she tells the crowd that she's going to be doing something new, something she's never done live before.

The crowd waits in anticipation as Sandra Lynn shuffles on stage, holding a beat up old acoustic guitar, covered in paint and hand prints from her Aguefort adventuring party.

Fig introduces her mother, the inspiration for the song, and both the guitarist and the second vocalist.

And for the first time ever, "Complicated" is played live

[thoughtkick]

If you have to speculate if someone loves you and wants to be with you, chances are they don’t. It’s not that complicated. Don’t waste moments waiting and wondering. Don’t throw away your time dreaming of someone who doesn’t want you. No one is that amazing, and certainly not someone who would pass you up.

Donna Lynn

[dandelion-roots]

[ID: a digital drawing of Sandra Lynn and Fig from Fantasy High. They're sitting on the roof of the hangvan at night and sharing cloves and a flask of whiskey. They're leaning on Baxter. The sky is clear and the stars visible. End ID]

[thehopefulquotes]

I learned not to trust people; I learned not to believe what they say but to watch what they do. I learned to suspect that everyone is capable of living a lie. I came to believe that other people - even when you think you know them well - are ultimately unknowable.

Lynn Barber

[littlemissmentallyunstable]

bella PLEWSDE WRITE A GRAYSON HAWTHORNE BLURB OR WHAYEVER WITH READER WITH LOW IRON AND LIKE SHE ALMOST FAINTS BECAUSE THERES LITERALLY ZERO. ZERO FICS THAY HAVE THE READER WITH LOW IRON SO PPELAPSPESLLEPWDLEEL

AHHHHHH BELLE LET ME JUST BEGIN WITH AN APOLOGY BECAUSE I AM SO SO SO SO SORRY THIS FIC HAS TAKEN ME THREE BILLION YEARS TO GET AROUND TO WRITING!! THANK YOU FOR YOU REQUEST AND I PRAYYYY THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED…. (if not I will redo)

title: I’m fine

pairing: grayson hawthorne x reader

synopsis: a story where ‘I’m fine’ means ‘I’m totally not fine but I’m not going to admit that’

warnings: dizziness, fainting

a/n: dedicating this to the beautiful @midiosaamor 💖💖 ily <33

taglist: @lovethornes @whatsamongus @wish-i-were-heather @inmyheaddd @never-enough-novels @fleuriosa @midiosaamor @sweetreveriee @emelia07 @f4iry-bell @zaraaaabear @thoughtdaughter3 @benny1989fredd @elysianwayy77 @maybxlle @sheisntyou @anintellectualintellectual @aleatorio1234 @adalia-jaycee @off-to-the-r4ces @lyra-kane @reminiscentreader @lyrakanefanatic @imaseabear @elizaa31 @loveinalocket @lanterns-and-daydreams @hermesenthusiast @eternal--dream @shattered-glass-roses @book-nerd-emi @peppapigsposts @foreverwinter22

It only started as a headache, not bad enough to be classed as a migraine but bad enough to be considered more than your average headache. Still, I carried on typing the words out on my computer, my brain pulsating in pain.

I didn’t have time to rest off a headache, there was too much to do. I’d only started working four hours ago and if I didn’t get this done by tonight then my boss would not be happy. I mean it wasn’t exactly my fault she decided set me an assignment with a deadline on the same day but still, I had to work it all out and push through.

The tasks seemed endless, I typed word after word, in a state of not really registering what I was writing, just making the robotic movements to write. Clicking the keys and forming coherent sentences without anything being properly processed. It wasn’t unusual, I was used to my brain working faster than my body sometimes.

Still, my head throbbed on. For a second, I stopped the incessant tapping on my keyboard and pressed two fingertips softly to each temple. My hands were ice cold. I breathed in and out deeply a few times with my eyes shut before beginning to work again, praying a tiny reset would be what I needed. I knew I was lying to myself, I knew it would take more than that to soothe any pain but I carried on like I didn’t.

“Are you alright?”

As small gasp escaped my lips as I looked up to see Grayson standing in the doorframe, one hand at the top taking most of his weight. I wondered how long he’d been stood there and I hadn’t noticed.

“Mmmm,” I hummed in reply, going back to finish the sentence I was typing before I lost my train of thought. Then I looked back up at him again, “why?”

He walked in slowly looking at my face intently, “you look a little pale.”

He took my face into his palms and rubbed my cheek with his thumb. Small, gentle, long strokes, that made me lean into him further. I wanted to just curl up in his arms and sleep, but my work clearly had other ideas.

“Just a headache,” I brushed it off, pulling away from his touch reluctantly, “is there any aspirin?”

“There is,” he nodded slowly, his eyebrows pinching together in concern, “but I really think you ought to lay down if it’s this bad.”

“I don’t need to,” I shook my head stubbornly, standing up to look him dead in the eye, “I’m fine.”

What a lie.

“You don’t look fine,” he told me softly, the anxiety rippling across his perfected features. His hands curved around the small of my back and I tried to enjoy it instead of thinking about the throbbing of my head.

So despite my ache, I smiled, “well I feel fine.”

Sometimes I lied so easily and so well it worried me. I shouldn’t be this good at something so cruel. But maybe more than him, I was lying to myself to convince a part of me that I wasn’t as feeling as bad as I thought I felt.

Grayson gave me another worried glance, thumb running up and down the base of my spine rhythmically, the softness of his touch sending a chill through it.

“Have you eaten today?” he asked me, the tingling up my back dying down.

“Earlier,” I nodded, my eyes flicking the time in the bottom corner of my screen realising my ‘earlier’ actually meant six hours ago. On cue, my stomach seized in a hungry protest, sending a tight knot like sensation across my abdomen. I prayed it wouldn’t grumble, betraying my lies to Gray.

“I haven’t seen you eat or-“

“Stop the fussing,” I grinned to bear it, “I’m fine, just need a tablet and some water.”

“Maybe lay off the work then,” he suggested, cocking his head towards my computer screen.

“Grayson I need to get this done,” I sighed gently, “a little headache can’t stop me.”

“Okay…” he said unsurely, hesitating for a few seconds.

“Stop worrying,” I forced a laugh through my searing brain, glancing up at him and looking through those truth-reeling gray eyes.

“I’m not,” his right hand twitches at my side. Liar. “Sit down and I’ll go and get you the aspirin, okay?”

“Okay then,” I nodded, sitting down. Another chill ran through my spine, though this time it was because of the empty place left where his hands had just been.

I took a few more deep breaths, feeling a little out of it all of a sudden. It was like I was in the room but I wasn’t at the same time. I closed my eyes and let the weight of my skull fall into my palms, breathing even deeper, heavier.

I let myself hang, like a lifeless marionette forgotten by her puppeteer, everything leaden and dopey. When I heard Grayson coming back and quickly opened my eyes and sat up a little bit straighter. If he saw me like that he’d get stressed and that’s the last he needed. It was only a headache after all.

Just a really bad headache.

“Thank you,” I kissed him on the cheek as he passed me the aspirin pill and a glass of water.

He cupped my face in his hands, “you promise me you’re fine?”

“I promise promise promise you,” I whispered, feigning another smile. My jaw was starting to ache. I don’t know it’s it from the guilt of lying or the forceful action of smiling or maybe it was just the headache transferring.

I took the tablet between my fingertips and put it at the back of my mouth before swallowing it quickly with water. I shivered afterwards. I hate taking tablets.

Grayson squeezed my shoulders softly, “do you want me to stay here?”

“Didn’t I just ‘promise promise promise’ you I was fine?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

He looked at me and sighed. Worry ran riot across his eyes, swirling anxious thoughts into pools of grey. How bad did I look?

“I haven’t got much work left to do, okay?” I said, “I just need to get through this.”

He took his time walking out and although I didn’t look at him I was convinced he kept looking back every through steps to check on me. Finally he left and I downed the glass of water.

I sat still for a moment, analysing how I felt. I didn’t think it was possible but my head had worsened. I internally groaned as dread filled my body. It wasn’t supposed to worsen. I prayed the tablet would kick in, after all I hadn’t really given it a chance.

I took a long breath out and continued tapping away at the keypad. After a while the continuous clicking and clacking was beginning to irritate me. Like an itch I couldn’t quite scratch. My already pounding head felt pounded with the small noises over and over like they were making a mockery of it. Still I continued, there wasn’t much left now and if I could just finish it l, all would be okay.

After about a billion spell checks - seriously why does psychology have a ‘p’ and ‘h’ in it, it’s so irrelevant - I thought I might be ready to finish when I realised I’d missed a whole section.

By now my head was almost unbearable. Torturous agony was creeping up behind my eye now as well as the front of my head. A whole section felt like it would be the death of me. And I’d noticed something weirdly unnatural about my breathing. Every breath in didn’t feel like enough oxygen. So I began to breathe more deeply and when that wasn’t working, more quickly.

That only fuelled my rising panic about the weird nature of these symptoms. They were familiar. Why couldn’t I breathe normally? What was wrong? Maybe it was more than a headache? Questions raced through my head faster than it had time to process them all.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

My head pounded on and like the idiot that I am, I carried on writing. My vision blurred out for a fraction of a second then cleared shortly after. I rubbed my eyes. It was just the screen. Just the screen.

It happened a few more times, so I cleaned my glasses with the bottom of my jumper for good measure. More notes, more notes, more notes, more notes. I quickly hit save in the document for fear if my computer crashed I would lose it all. I sighed as I then went to drink from my water glass only to realise it was empty.

“Gray!” I yelled, “could you grab me another glass of water please?”

I barely registered his reply, my only focus being the stupid piece of work. ‘I can last a little longer’ I repeated over and over in my mind. Until I was bored. Until I was delirious. Until I was too brain dead to care.

I could hear Grayson approaching so got up to meet him at the door. I wanted a ten second break from staring straight at the glowing screen. Suddenly, mid step, I stumbled. Straight away Grayson had one hand around the small of my back gripping tightly and the another on my upper arm, steadying me. I try to laugh it off as a I mistake but even that sounded weak.

“Woah sweetheart,” he said, his hold firmer as he set me straight, “what’s going on?”

“I’m fine,” I shrugged, trying to get back to my chair, my legs feeling too much like jelly for my liking.

I could see he didn’t believe me completely, he didn’t have to say a word. Grayson, instead, took me in his arms. I couldn’t ask to sit down after that, then I’d be admitting that something was wrong. So I stayed standing, my body against his. The only thing holding me up was him.

He looked at me, tender eyed and consumed with concern, “you’re clearly not my love.”

“Gray, I just tripped,” I said smoothly, praying he’d let me twist the truth as I tried to stop my legs from shaking.

“Don’t lie to me,” he murmured in a low voice, curling his other arm around my waist for support.

“I’m not lying,” I shrugged, continuing to be in denial as I gripped to his shirt so tightly my knuckles went white, “I’m fine.”

As soon as the words left my lips everything spun. I closed my eyes and pressed my head against his chest, hoping it would all just go away. My feet swayed a little and panic seized my throat at the unsteadiness. I made a choked sound, halfway between a gasp and a silent scream.

“It’s okay,” Grayson whispered softly, “I’ve got you.” He brought a hand up through the back of my hair and gently held onto the back of my head to steady it.

“Dizzy,” I murmured into him, my voice slurred and slowed. I felt so out of it.

We stayed like that for I don’t know how long. My concept of time was as hazy as my vision. I just remembered staying very still, Grayson’s hands not leaving my body and how hard my forehead was pressed against him.

After a while, I tried to stand back on my own, thinking the dizzy spell was over but as soon as I did the room became a whirlpool of colours and blob-ish shapes. I felt myself lose my footing completely and before I knew it was falling backwards.

Strong arms tensed around my torso and quickly caught me, “oh sweetheart,” I heard Grayson say as he safely lowered me to the ground.

My legs became lifeless pieces of flesh, heavy as led but weak as a flimsy childhood doll. My head felt heavy in his lap as it pounded on. I sewed my eyes shut, it helped a little with the dizziness. His cold fingers tentatively touched my forehead and I leant into them ever so slightly with what energy I had left.

“I’m going to carry you to bed,” he told me gently, as I felt one arm around my back and the other under my legs.

“But my work-“ I groaned, feeling a little nauseated from the dizziness.

He held me tightly, “no sweetheart, forget about work, you need to rest.”

I didn’t reply and instead feebly gripped my deadened limbs around his neck and prayed for all of this to just go away.

“Gray,” I murmured into his chest.

“Yeah?”

“I’m not fine,” I said, somewhere between a sob and mumble.

“I know sweetheart,” he whispered, pressing a shaky kiss on my temple, “I know.”

He scooped me into his arms and carried me to the bedroom, laying me on the bed, before tucking me under the covers. Not letting go of my hand, that gripped him so tightly I don’t know how he didn’t complain. I heard him dialling a number.

“Who are you calling?” I slurred.

“Someone to come and help you,” he responded swiftly.

“Mhmm,” I could only muster in response.

His thumb rubbed circles up and down my hand, “I’m going to stay right here okay?” he comforted, “can you still hear me?”

“Don’t go,” I whispered, feeling quite pathetic but not self-conscience enough to care.

“No I’m staying sweetheart,” he squeezed my palm in his, “I’m staying.”

My eyes fluttered open as my head lazily lolled to one side, “I’m dizzy,” I groaned, not remembering if I’d mentioned already.

“I know,” Grayson whispered, a hand pushing my hair out of the way, “I know.”

“Can I rest my eyes?” I asked him, closing them anyway.

“No, you can’t go to sleep,” he told me.

“No just rest my eyes…” I trailed off, pausing for a long while, my train of thought wavering, “…to stop the spinning.”

“Squeeze my hand every three seconds then,” he said, “so I know you’re awake.”

“Deal,” I barely managed to whisper before I felt the need to increase my breathing rate. It felt like there wasn’t enough oxygen in my system.

I squeezed his hand every three seconds, just about keeping track of the numbers. But with every squeeze I could feel myself growing weaker and weaker, like all of my energy was being drained slowly and mercilessly. The only thing that kept me from closing my eyes was Grayson’s gentle touches. His soft fingertips trailing over my face, tracing the contours or drawing spirals on my upper arms and neck.

I opened my eyes for a moment, when the darkness was just as bad as the light, when I felt dizzy no matter whether my eyes were closed or open. Things blurred and cleared, darkened and became normal again over and over and over. Until, a piercing ringing coursed through my ears and everything other sound seemed to be submerged under water. I knew what that meant I was close to.

“Gray,” I murmured shakily.

“Yes?”

“I’m going to pass out,” I told him, a single tear trailing its way down my cheek, “I can feel it.”

I knew the signs well enough and every sign was pointing that way.

“It’s okay,” he said, positioning himself behind me, so my back was pressed against his torso and he could support my head, “I’ve got you.”

“I don’t want to pass out,” I sobbed, black spots dancing across my vision in mockery.

The worst part is always before you passed out because when you’re out you feel and remember nothing. But before, you know what’s coming and you know you can’t stop it.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he mumbled into my hair, slowly, comfortingly, “you’re safe, if you need to pass out, you can and your body will, whether you like it or not.”

My hands were shaking, fingers rocking back and forth, bumping into one another clumsily, “I’m scared,” I said between uneven breaths.

I grabbed Grayson’s forearm to attempt to still them, my fingers so brutally desperate in their clinging that they constricted his blood flow. No matter how many times I’d passed out,, I always felt just as scared.

“You don’t need to be scared,” he soothed gently, “I’ve got you, I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.”

“You promise,” I panted, looking up at him, chest rising up and down harshly.

“I promise,” he leant down and planted a sweet of kiss on my nose.

I kept looking up, until his gray eyes clouded with dark spots, until calm expression replaced with an endless see of nothingness, until the whisperings of sweet words ceased. My breathing was heavy, growing heavier by the second and then… then there was black.

***

I felt thick and heavy with drowsiness. My body felt so weighted it ached. My back was against the mattress, my head flat on the pillow, I was anchored to my bed. The covers had been adjusted to just under my neck and I could feel someone’s hand in mine.

I winced as I opened my eyes, the light attacking them too viciously. Immediately Grayson dimmed it down, holding my cheek tentatively in his palm.

“Hey sweetheart,” he whispered, kissing my forehead.

“Gray?”

He traced a soft thumb over the bone where my eyebrow sat as he asked, “how are you feeling?”

“Tired,” I mumbled, stifling a yawn.

“Here,” he said gently, “have some water.”

Slowly he helped me prop myself up, his hand pressed up against my back, the other tipping the glass towards my lips. I swallowed, the water feeling odd against the dryness of my throat.

“How long was I out for?” I coughed.

“Only a bit,” he said, laying me back down, “the doctors have come and gone, they say you’ll be okay with some rest.”

“Why did I pass out?” I asked tiredly, “do they know?”

“You hadn’t taken your iron tablets in three days,” Grayson explained, cocking his head towards my table.

I glanced to my bedside and gasped. Three days worth of unconsumed tablets sat there. I never usually forgot, one day maybe but three whole days. That was unheard of. Guilt permeated me, all the stress I’d probably put Grayson under could’ve been entirely prevented.

“I must’ve forgotten,” I sighed leaning deeper into my pillow, “work has just been so hectic lately and-“

“Hey, hey, hey, I didn’t tell you to worry you, I told you so you wouldn’t overthink what was wrong,” he said softly, “but it’s okay, you’re okay, that’s all that matters.”

“But it’s not okay because it’s all my fault,” I bursted into tears, the shock wave of random emotion leaving me senseless, “I’m sorry. I didn’t tell you I wasn’t fine and then I just passed out and that probably really stressed you out and I could’ve stopped all of that if I’d just taken the stupid tablets.”

“Sweetheart,” he pressed a palm flat on my chest, “breathe, it’s okay.”

His voice was the constant in my current of chaotic overthinking. This had happened before many times, my low iron deficiency had always been an issue, but even the very first time I’d passed out he was so much calmer than I’d expected.

He kept calm for me.

“God I feel like an idiot,” I choked out a pathetic laugh, wiping my eyes roughly with the back of my hand.

“You’re not an idiot, love,” he soothed, taking my hand gently into his and replacing with with the pad of his thumb, as he gently wiped away the tears that were left, “it happens.”

“It shouldn’t happen,” I shook my head defiantly.

I don’t forget things. I never forget things.

“Hey,” Grayson said, “look at me, you’re fine, I’m fine and that’s all that’s important.”

He held my face in his palms and looked at me like I meant the world.

“I’m sorry,” I let the weight of my head fall into his hands, taking the ache from my neck.

“Don’t apologise,” he said, “there’s no need for you to, just relax.”

I closed my eyes, his palm warm and comforting against my cheek. His fingers found their way to the top of my head, soothingly running through my hair over my scalp.

“Do you want me to get in with you?” he asked.

I nodded sleepily and watched as he slipped into the bed beside me. I was quick to snuggle close, intertwining my legs with his and burying my face into his chest. I inhaled and exhaled slowly.

“You okay, sweetheart?” he whispered in a low voice in my ear as his arms curved around my waist.

“Tired,” I mumbled.

“It’s okay,” he ushered, “you can go to sleep.”

“What if you go?” I asked, like a child.

“I won’t, I promise,” Grayson said, “I’ll stay here with you.”

I smiled to myself, and squeezed his arm, “I love you,” I murmured, “so much.”

“I love you too sweetheart,” he planted a kiss on the top of my head, “more than this world. Get some rest now.”

So I shut my eyes and fell longingly into sleep’s arms.

a/n: hope you enjoyed guys, sorry I haven’t posted much 💖💖

TIG masterlist

[the-traveling-poet]

𝒟𝓇𝒶𝒷𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝟤𝟢𝟤𝟧 // 𝒟𝒶𝓎 𝒪𝓃𝑒 ~ “𝒞𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒾𝒶𝑔𝑒”

Levi Ackerman x F!Reader

SFW

( A/N: ) Ack I’m so excited to do this again! For prompt no.1, I’ve decided to take a lil (slightly edited, from ch.2) snippet from my ongoing Levi x F!reader fic “What Shitty Luck”. Go check out @thedrabblecollective to keep up with everyone’s entrees and follow along yourselves!

~Borders~

~More Levi Ackerman Content~

~Drabble Challenge 2024 // Drabble Challenge 2025~

~Join the taglist!~

“I saw the way you watched her,” Erwin suddenly spoke up, his gaze focused elsewhere out the carriage window as he spoke.

Feigning ignorance, Levi huffed. “Watched who?”

“Don’t play dumb, Levi. You’re not so good at that as you are dealing out sarcasm.”

“I wasn’t watching Y/N any sort of way.” Levi defended, having the gall to even look offended.

“Ah, but I didn’t say her name, did I? I could have been referring to the woman standing in the lobby when we left.”

Erwin chuckled, briefly meeting his eye before Levi quickly looked away with a scowl.

[perfectfeelings]

I learned not to trust people; I learned not to believe what they say but to watch what they do. I learned to suspect that everyone is capable of living a lie. I came to believe that other people - even when you think you know them well - are ultimately unknowable.

Lynn Barber

[laughtalelogs]

Cuddles with Sanji

Sanji reminded you of the a summer breeze. Gentle touches that were as soft as wind sent a shiver down your spine for a fleeting second, but were quickly subverted by the warm front of his embrace. You felt a pepper of rain, as tears fall from the crystal blue skies, their clouds parting to exalt you. You felt the ground beneath you. The security you felt was overwhelming and his gravity pulled you impossibly closer, the heat between you addicting.

Your heart ached and your own tears threatened to spill. Your fingers dug deep into the flesh of his arms where he cradled you. Your chest tightened as a selfish thought pushed its way to the front of your mind. You wished to dig your heels into the earth, anything to be closer to him. A shower of praise fell on your forehead as you raised your head up to the heavens, his voice parting the clouds of your mind.

“You are beautiful, my love, I am eternally indebted to you,” the sun coos, its rays casting a warmth on your face that creeped up from your neck and prickled your ears. You didn’t dare look up, scared to be blinded by his brilliance. You pressed your lips into his neck, feeling his heart beat frantically underneath his pale skin.

“..I love you Sanji,” is all you can conjure, your gratitude too great to put into words. You let yourself sink further into the heat of his body. How could you ask for more, when he gave you the world?

first time as an adult trying to write fanfiction. I think I might continue?? I have a lot of free time rn and a couple ideas for more sanji stuff and zoro stuff too! pls stay tuned and if u have anyone else you’d like to see lmk! :)

[emilys-axford]

i know i talk about it all the time bc it’s one of my favourite lines from fantasy high but sandra lynn saying to fig “everything you’re going through is something that i get i was just like you” in light of her (most likely) being groomed by bobby dawn, with figs ill-advised interactions with older men in freshman year….. ya i’m thinking about it

[therecoveryquotes]

Stop counting the relapses and stop worshipping the time you have without them. Just keeping getting back up. You just keep getting back up. Now that is recovery!

— Jackie Lynn Cazee-Samm

[lynnsmix]

ROGUE TAMER ⋆˙⟡ h. haddock x reader

summary : Finding other Vikings who rode dragons was naturally a shock for Hiccup and the others—no-less a dragon tamer who subdued the rage of a literal Screaming Death.

word count : 7.4k words

tags : rtte!hiccup, fem!reader, herbalist!reader, exile!reader, dragonrider!reader, fluff, awkward teen romance, no use of y/n or (name)

author's notes : bro taming dragons has been on my mind all week + the screaming death and how it would react if it had a rider so i was like. . . omg i forgot i have free will lemme whip this shi up 😏🙏🏻

Ruffnut and Tuffnut—The embodiment of mischief and trouble. Whenever the Dragon Riders were assigned to doing tasks like fetching water, checking for intruders, scoping out other islands, the twins would either let the task be done by someone else from their circle, or completely stray away from the job at hand.

And they would always have some dumb reason to excuse themselves too; Spouting out that they were focused on a mission given by Loki, or they were blaming each other for distracting them, or they gave out some entirely odd reason that didn't make any sense at all.

Most of what they did and said didn't make a lot of sense, and the others knew that—either choosing to ignore their anecdotes and moving on, or insulting their intelligence, not that it affected them the slightest.

But this time, what they were reasoning for not scoping out their assigned islands properly was something to give attention to—because this was an entirely new reason.

They were currently reporting their findings of the islands near Berk; if anything had gone awry in the islands, such as migration or no sign of the assigned dragon on the island. With everyone finished with presenting what they had observed, the Dragon Academy they were in went silent, the friend group looking at the Thorston Twins until one of them spoke.

"Fireworm Island is fine, no changes there— well, from what we saw up top." Ruffnut nonchalantly reported, her arms crossed with her brother leaning onto their Hideous Zippleback.

"Up top?" Hiccup questioned, his eyebrows furrowed, the hand that he used to pet Toothless halting in curiosity, the Nightfury taking the chance to walk away and play with the Gronckle and Deadly Nadder that were behind them.

"Yeah, we were trying to fly back down, until we saw what was literally the coolest thing to ever see again that we had to follow it," Tuffnut boasted, his hands gesturing largely and exaggeratedly to create suspense, his sister nodding eagerly in agreement, looking at him and back at them.

They had that glint in their eyes that told the others that this was going to be another long-winded goose-chase of a reason.

Assuming they knew where this was going, their bodies went slack, with Astrid rolling her eyes with her arms crossed, Fishlegs shaking his head in disapproval with a hand on his forehead, and Snotlout following suit and groaning. All of it made Hiccup also let out a sign of boredom, breathing out a deep sigh and crossing his arms.

"Oh, here we go again," Snotlout muttered, his hands on each respective hip, his posture tilted to put weight on one foot.

Waiting for Tuffnut's answer, they never expected it would be actually a fair reason—maybe more than fair, dire actually.

"Wait for it. . . The Screaming Death!" His arms went up and tried to scare the others, but their minds stood to attention instead.

"Screaming. . . Death?" Fishlegs squeaked out, his posture going scared.

"It's back?" Astrid dropped her arms to her sides, taking a step closer, her face contorting into horror and concern.

"Why is it when something chaotic happens, it's always you two?" Snotlout chided, but his worried expression gave him away.

Hiccup's lips parted with his eyes narrow, and let a hand out to gesture to Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

"Are you sure you saw it?" The brunet Viking clarified in unease.

"As clear as when I accidentally saw Gobber use the outhouse—" Tuffnut said with a straight face, his hand going to his heart to swear his honesty, before getting cut off.

"Okay— okay, we get it—" Astrid stepped in to stop him from saying anything else.

"So, where did it go? Did it go to the other islands?" The blonde queried, her arms going cross as a means to comfort herself.

"Well, other than stopping to pick up a few herbs and flowers in Shivering Shores, it went back to the direction of Screaming Death Island." Ruffnut shrugged.

They all let out a breath they didn't know they were holding in, but it seemed too early to feel relieved with Tuffnut's next statement.

"But it's rider saw us when it turned around and spotted Ruffnut's big head, then it flew away." He pointed to her, earning him a hit to the head with her sister's Viking helmet.

"Ouch." The blond Viking whined, rubbing the back of his head.

"Wait, dragon rider?" Fishlegs asked, startled.

"Did you not hear what he just said?" Ruffnut's voice had pried at him, her voice full of annoyance.

"Well," Astrid put herself in thought as she asked the next question.

"What do we do?" She looked at everyone, before looking at Hiccup last.

There was a moment of respite, until one of them spoke.

"I think we should leave them alone guys," Fishlegs recommended, clearly wanting this conversation to end.

"And risk another Screaming Death invasion here on Berk? No way," Snotlout scolded, not wanting to take another chance of getting their village eradicated.

"It's not like we could get rid of the rider guys—" Astrid tried to reason, but the Twins, who were the most unreasonable, had interrupted her.

"No, we could." Tuffnut, who looked to be in thought, nodded in agreement to his answer, slightly shrugging.

"Should we do it executioner style or. . .?" Ruffnut commented while grinning, liking where the conversation was headed.

"No one's executing anyone." Astrid butted in, tired of their antics. She had glared at them, before turning to her side.

"Hiccup?" She wanted to hear his opinion on what to do. He was arguably the most level-headed person when it came to situations like this—probably why he was always the lead person to direct them when it came down to the wire—and she knew he would say the most adequate option in their current predicament.

He was deep in thought, his eyebrows furrowed before looking up to look at her and the others.

"I think. . . We should scope out Screaming Death Island." He finally concluded, his tone sure.

"This is just crazy. . . Are you mad?!" Snotlout mumbled the first sentence under his breath before lashing out at Hiccup.

"Hey, cut it out." She told Snotlout. She understood why he was furious, but this wasn't the time to lose yourself to rage.

"But seriously Hiccup, this. . . Doesn't seem like a good idea," The blonde Viking shrugged, her tone uncertain.

"I know, but," He looked down, trying to find the right words to articulate himself.

"We have to check if they're really doing something evil with the Screaming Death before we do something drastic," He reasoned, with the others understanding.

"Besides, if anything happens, you're with your dragon." Hiccup finished, they looked reluctant, but they understood that this was the only way to make sure she wasn't a threat.

And as safety precaution, if something bad were to occur, all six of them were there to protect one another. He looked at all of them, and nodded, concluding this meeting finished.

They all scurried out the Dragon Academy with their dragons, preparing themselves to go to the titular 'Screaming Death Island'.

Hiccup was walking out with Toothless behind him. A warble the dragon let out made him look over his shoulder to look at the Nightfury, which made him more relaxed.

He had his friends, their dragons, and Toothless on Screaming Death Island. It seemed like a safe bet.

What could possibly go wrong?

Surprisingly, not a lot actually.

From the start, the trip to Screaming Death Island wasn't a breeze. They had seen the identifiable albino dragon from afar, flying around the nearby sea stacks. It was hard trying to get a good view of it when it was flying that sporadically, but they confirmed that there was someone riding it.

Toothless growled at the titular dragon from afar, they weren't that far, but they were behind it so it wouldn't be able to detect them.

The Screaming Death didn't sense them, but its rider did.

Feeling as if multiple eyes were on the duo, the rogue rider turned around, and it saw the group of dragon riders, and looked to the middle of it where Hiccup was, and narrowing their eyes. They were in a hood, with a shawl covering the bottom part of their face.

Their eyes met for only a brief moment, but Hiccup felt exhilarated.

As soon as the dragon rider saw them, it turned back to its dragon and bolted off to the island.

"Well, what do we do now?" Fishlegs asked.

"We follow them. Let's split up to cover more ground. But remember gang—no fighting, got it?" Hiccup ordered.

"Yeah, yeah— whatever. C'mon Hookfa—" Snotlout jeered, but before he could finish, his Monstrous Nightmare flew off quickly, a startled echo of a scream following suit.

The others flew off in different directions to the dragon's sanctuary, with Astrid being last to go, wanting to say something before she also left.

"Y'know, they always break that rule, right?" She asked in deadpan.

He sighed, then answered the girl. "Yeah, but. . . Let's just hope this doesn't end up with another island sinking into itself."

They both went their separate ways, with Hiccup and Toothless flying through the inside of the dark burrowed holes into one of the mountains.

If the Nightfury didn't have echo location, he was sure that they'd be lost by now.

They had seen a light source at the end of one of the tunnels, with Hiccup directing Toothless to be careful now.

"Let's slow down, bud." He rubbed the side of Toothless head, with the dragon understanding.

The dragon's flying subsided, opting for walking with delicacy, as if anything would trigger something chaotic.

They had reached the end, walking into a lit-up space of the tunnel, with multiple large holes, with torches and random equipment strewn about. There was a crackling fire in the middle of the cave, logs burning over each other surrounded by rocks, with books haphazardly near it.

He got down from Toothless, stepping over to look at them more clearly, picking two of them up.

"'Herbalist's Guide to Fungi and Fauna'. Huh." Hiccup read aloud, his voice laced with suspicion.

Looking at another book next to it, he read the cover.

"'The Herbal Dispensatory: Remedies and Cures'. . . Why would they have this, bud?" He asked rhetorically to his dragon. These were all books that would belong to a healer like Gothi back at Berk, so why was the rogue rider reading these?

He was confused, looking at Toothless for help, but the Nightfury just looked back at its rider, perplexed.

But they didn't have time to ponder more, when they had heard something growl, and slight hissing from one of the tunnels. The hole was pitch black, staring back at them, meaning what would have been growling would have to be close to them to see what it was—and it made Hiccup's hair stand on the back of his neck.

Hiccup dropped the books down and backed away, preparing himself to see the Screaming Death, with Toothless' eyes narrowing. But as the sound got closer, the mystery dragon had made its way into the light.

The brunet Viking had dropped his shoulders in relief, with Toothless going docile. It was Groundsplitter, the mother of the Screaming Death.

It flew into the large cave and recognized the two, with Hiccup noticing a few nuances from the dragon. Its flying seemed more labored, and the original scale color of the Whispering Death wasn't its natural steel green, but quite paler.

Without another second to process, the large dragon plopped down on its chin, seemingly from exhaustion. It let out a pained roar toward them, with its white eyes slightly closing.

Hiccup and Toothless walked near it with caution, while the Whispering Death didn't give a notice it was aggressive towards them.

Hiccup laid out a hesitant hand on its head, stroking it in comfort. His face shifted from cautious to concerned, genuinely confused on what happened to it. Toothless seemed to sense that they were weak, letting out a small warble.

"What happened to you, girl?" He asked in worry at the feeble dragon, only getting a weak grumble from it.

He was looking all over the Whispering Death, checking for an injury of some sort, but he was cut short when an unfamiliar female voice interrupted him.

"Step away from the dragon." The girl had revealed herself from one of the shadows of the tunnels, with the Screaming Death in tow, barely able to keep its hostility quelled. She had her bow in one hand, already grabbing an arrow from the quiver, clad on her hips.

"Woah there! just calm down, we're not here to hurt it—" Hiccup stepped away from Groundsplitter, with Toothless now going growling, his teeth bared and ready to pounce.

"That's what they all say," The masked rider said, her tone on edge, loading the string of her bow and drawing, aiming at them menacingly.

Even with only her eyes being the only part of her face he could see, Hiccup could feel her fury. She walked in front of the Whispering Death as if to protect it, while the Screaming Death seemingly ready to attack.

"Wait, really. . .! We aren't here to hurt any of you," Hiccup held a hand up to show surrender, but the Screaming Death thought otherwise, letting out a combatant snarl, but before the albino dragon had made an action, its mother—with all its strength roared, an action to stop its child.

The rogue dragon rider looked back and forth at the Whispering Death and the Screaming Death, then to the duo in confusion. The grip of the draw on her bow had started to falter, her actions showing uncertain.

"Who are you?" The girl tilted her head slightly, her voice still cautious, yet curious. She had now noticed the dragon next to him.

"How about you aim the bow away from my face, and then I'll tell you?"

After the previous. . . almost altercation between the two, the conversation seemed to mellow out.

After introducing himself and the girl doing it back, Hiccup learned that not all rogue dragon riders weren't all gung-ho about causing evil and spreading havoc, since the girl in front of him that was just listening calmly to him explain why he was here and why the Whispering Death knew them.

The brunet Viking was talking while the girl sat in front of him was grabbing various things out of her satchel and onto the rough, rocky floor.

He finished talking about how they saved the Whispering Death from the Berserkers and the Outcasts, his shoulders still doing the thing where he talks expressively.

"And after that, they just stayed here. Luckily, Groundsplitter remembers us, but the Screaming Death doesn't," He finished.

"Groundsplitter?" She looked up at the boy sitting across from him.

"The Whispering Death— I uh— I mean." He corrected himself. Hiccup really felt like he was just spewing dumb things out of his mouth—because whenever he was storytelling, the girl would always look at him weird, especially when he was talking about dragons.

Yes, his story did sound very unrealistic—defeating the literal queen of dragons and losing his foot in the process—but not to the point where someone would furrow their brows in confusion all the time.

"Oh, okay. . ." She answered plainly and continued her actions, with Hiccup pausing to look at what she was doing.

She put a multitude of flowers and mushrooms in a wood bowl and started crushing it with a nearby rock. She paused, looking up at him, who seemed to be in a trance.

"What are you doing?" The brunet Viking was curious, wanting to finally find out what she was doing.

"This?" She nodded to the now pulverised fauna in the bowl, with Hiccup nodding. The hooded girl was hesitant to tell the strange boy, but it wouldn't hurt for him to know.

". . . I'm trying to make a cure,"

"A cure? A cure for what?" He clarified, his confusion now more prominent.

"For that dragon." She pointed behind her, right at the Whispering Death, who was right now resting next to its child, the Screaming Death.

"I don't know what happened to her, but I'm indebted to her that I have to find a cure." She said with determination, her gaze focused on pounding the rock into the already ground ingredients in the bowl.

"You're indebted to her. . .?" Hiccup's voice tip-toed the line of being curious and sounding like he was sarcastic, but that was really just how his voice sounded. Thankfully, the masked rider did not take notice, just continuing her dialogue.

"When I was exiled by my tribe for not being able to kill a dragon, they sent me off by a boat and didn't think anything of it—just giving me some food, and those books you saw to survive. Great hospitality, huh?" She told him, with Hiccup's eyes narrowing in understanding, but he was still startled. She was talking about being banished by her own people and being sent off all alone just like it was simple conversation.

"My boat went onshore here, and before I knew it—some random Viking's were actually following me with another boat. . . Talking nonsense about where the 'Dragon Riders' were hiding. It was quite off-kilter, I'd say," She went on.

Hiccup was nodding to her story in interest, but he perked up when he heard the word 'Dragon Riders'. He was almost 100% certain those Vikings were talking about him and his friends.

"They were about to kidnap me to interrogate me even more, but the ground beneath us started rumbling. Then before I knew it, she flew out of the ground, eating one of them." You laughed at the memory, with Hiccup still nodding but his eyebrows furrowing in concern at how you could laugh at something like that, but he wrote it off.

"After seeing one of their men get chewed up by her, they retreated. I thought I was the one next on the chopping block, but when she looked at me," Your movements faltered, slowing down.

"I saw her eyes. She looked terrifying, yeah—but her eyes said otherwise. She was friendly, understanding, it knew I wasn't trying to invade the island or kill her, she was just protecting her territory. Dragons are smarter than most Vikings think, y'know?" Her movements now were normal paced, now finishing what she was crushing, now finely granulated.

She put the rock down and stood up, continuing her story.

"Maybe it was because she felt my fear, how scared I was, I don't even know anymore— But she lowered her head, and I put my palm on her. After that she dug back down." She was now walking near the Whispering Death, with Hiccup following the girl, standing up and cautiously walking over, wary of the Screaming Death next to it.

"I lived near the shore for a while, until she came back for me. I saw her like this now; all frail and labored. I knew she needed my help, just like I needed hers. So here I am," She patted the side of the Whispering Death, signaling to open its mouth.

When it did, the hooded girl poured the contents of the bowl into the dragon's maw, closing to swallow the mix of ingredients.

"I'm pretty sure she noticed me trying to help her mother, so it lowered its head to me too." She gestured next to the steel-green dragon, pointing lazily to the albino reptile.

She stepped closer next to the Screaming Death, then stroking its crown, earning a satisfied purr from the dragon.

She stopped talking, seemingly focused on the action. Hiccup couldn't see it, but the girl was gently smiling at the duo of dragons.

"So that's why. . ." Hiccup trailed off, unsure whether to ask what he wanted to ask.

"Yeah? What did you think I was doing?" The girl pried, looking over her shoulder at the boy.

"No— It's just," He put his hands up and shook them in surrender, wanting to express his sorry.

The girl turned her body to the boy, her arms crossing, waiting for his answer.

He sighed in relief, knowing that this was all some big misunderstanding. The sole purpose of you riding the albino reptile was so you could find fauna to use to cure the Whispering Death.

"My friends saw you riding the Screaming Death, we thought you were controlling it for. . . Let's just say for a lack of better word 'malicious' intent." He shrugged. You reasoned, your head tilting to nod in understanding where he was coming from.

"We followed you to see if you were going to do anything bad, but here you were, just trying to find ingredients to help Groundsplitter!" He gestured to your frame.

"This is just great. . . Oh, I need to tell the gang quick," He remembered that this was still a mission with his friends to scope out the island.

"There are others here?" You said with an edge, standing to attention when he implied there were other Vikings.

"Yeah, but I just need to tell them you mean no harm, it'll be fine. . . At least I think so," Hiccup said, his voice laced with uncertainty, with a tinge of coyness that made you grin under your shawl.

"I think you should come with me." He stepped closer to you.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't think they'll believe me if I just say it, especially Snotlout," He sighed and shook his head, thinking of what obscenities his sable-haired cousin would say if he did just report the girl meant no harm and they'd leave her alone.

"And how do I know you're not leading me into a trap?" The girl was still suspicious, but she was sure that this boy didn't mean no harm.

"Because," He walked over to the other side of the cave where his trusty dragon was laying, before turning his head to look over his shoulder.

"You'll be riding the Screaming Death."

Hiccup and the hooded rider flew out of the tunnels, with the boy trying to make small conversation with the girl.

"Random question: do you always cover your face?" He shouted behind him, with the girl on her dragon following the duo.

"Not always, when I'm outside, sometimes I do," You replied, turning a sharp right, both dragons easily maneuvering themselves in the pitch-black tunnels.

"How about when meeting my friends?" He asked in curiosity, he was sure that most of his friends felt less danger if they could finally pin point a face to the dragon rider.

"They're still strangers to me, are they not?"

"I guess so? Then, what's your answer?" They were nearing the end, the light at the end of the tunnel finally getting brighter.

"When meeting strangers like you, yes!" You yelled back, your voice laced with a taunt.

"Ouch, fair play," He hollered, with the girl growing a grin at his sillhouette in the dark tunnels.

They had made it out of the tunnels, the blinding light hitting both of their eyes, giving each other a few seconds to readjust from the sudden amount of light hitting them.

"Let's get onto shore, that way it's easier for me for Toothless to signal the other dragons to come." He looked at the girl who nodded in agreement.

Making it down, the dragons were stationary by the beach covered with holes.

"So, how are you going to—" You turned to ask, yet you were interrupted.

Toothless cut you off, it's roaring call reaching your ears, squinting your eyes slightly in surprise. It wasn't that loud compared to what you hear with the Screaming Death, but it still startled you.

Toothless finished his blaring alarm of a roar, with Hiccup looking at you smugly, as if he knew what you were going to ask.

"That's how we're going to call them." He said with a grin, and you couldn't help but roll your eyes playfully.

"Show off. . ." You mumbled under your breath, looking down.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" He heard you loud and clear, but he found himself happier that you were starting to get comfortable with him that you made quips like this now.

"Nothing," You quickly dismissed, looking at the other direction.

Hiccup only met you for only a short respite, but it felt like you and him were starting to click together quite easily. He felt like his chest was getting warm. Odd.

As if to help you move on from the subject, multiple dragons had made its way from the sky in vicinity to Hiccup and you. You were never taught the names of or classes of dragons, just the phrase 'kill on sight', so this was new—seeing multiple types of unknown dragons at the same time.

They were about to fly down, but they had noticed the ever-noticeable Screaming Death right next to their friend.

"Uh. . . Hiccup? I don't mean to point out the obvious, but are you not next to what we're trying to look for?" Fishlegs shyly asked, his hold steady on Meatlug's ears.

"Yeah, I mean, Ruffnut could've noticed that," Tuffnut added, with him earning another hit to his helmet by his twin sister.

"Ow, stop hitting me! Hit Snotlout for a change at least," He rubbed his head, his voice irritated yet unfazed at the same time.

"Okay, why am I being dragged into this?" He wailed in annoyance at The Twins from his place on his Monstrous Nightmare.

"Because I need a break from getting hit on the head, and you—my dear friend—have a very hittable head," Tuffnut explained a way someone academically inclined would propose their research on something.

"Y'know, Tuff—for once I agree with you." Astrid smirked, looking to the dark-haired Viking who seemed like he was going to blow steam out of his ears about now.

"Why not Fishlegs?" Snotlout complained.

"Because I don't know where his neck and his head starts!" Ruffnut reasoned, almost complaining like the dark-haired Viking.

"Hey!" Fishlegs now felt like talking, wanting to defend himself.

What now was supposed to be a formal conversation turned into full on back and forth bickering, with the duo on ground with their dragons watching this all unfold—Hiccup putting a hand on his forehead in disappointment, while you look at them in amusement.

"Are they. . . Always like this?" You queried, a genuine smile that reached your eyes, tearing your eyes away from the fight to look at Hiccup, who looked bummed out.

"No, well— yes, but— not like, not like this—" He sputtered. Hiccup tore his hand away from his face to gesture what now was The Twins trying to attack Snotlout from their respective flying reptiles, a multitude of green gas sparking up into clouds of fire, ablaze.

"In front of new people. . . Well, Ruff and Tuff you could make an exception— anyway, let me just settle this down, okay?" He looked at her eyes and they met, he saw the way her eyes crinkled, how she was genuinely entertained by it, and a weight seemed to fall off his shoulder.

Hiccup was a humble person—he wasn't a flashy Viking. He wasn't the type of show off in front of others and wasn't the type of person who wanted to.

He also wasn't someone that didn't go out of his way to impress or show a different manner to people, but maybe because of the situation at hand—with a rogue dragon tamer, who rode a literal Screaming Death, no less—he felt quite clammy knowing this was her first impression of them.

Hiccup had somehow made the riders fly down on their level on shore, with you surveying each one—the latter doing it right back at you, with Hiccup butting in to speak.

He introduced your name to them, and explained that you weren't a threat, just helping the Whispering Death.

But even with that clarification coming from Hiccup, the Dragon Riders were still on edge, as if you'd betray them immediately.

"How do we know you're not going to immediately kill us and invade Berk after we leave?" Tuffnut's voice was laced in suspicion with a hand on his chin. His statements were quite farfetched, but they weren't taking any chances.

"Yeah, and what if you're actually Dagur's spy, here to assassinate us?" Astrid crossed her arms, her narrow eyes piercing yours.

"I thought Dagur was cool with us now?" Fishlegs asked.

"Well, they don't call him 'Dagur the Deranged' for nothing," Snotlout jested, shrugging.

You weren't nervous, but you felt pressured with all of their interrogative queries. You sighed and put a hand up in surrender.

"Okay, can I speak now?" You rubbed the back of your neck in boredom, the riders pausing their conversation to give you the floor.

"So, first of all: I'm not going to eradicate all of you and invade. . . Whatever your island is called," You put up one finger as a start to your list, dismissing whatever nonsense the man riding the dual-headed reptile—or was it a woman? You couldn't really tell.

"If I wanted to destroy all of you and your home, I would've already done it," You threatened nonchalantly, but this just made the Dragon Riders hair on the back of their neck stand.

"Anyway, second: I'm not a spy.I wouldn't have to be an exile then. . ." You mumbled the last part, not letting it reach their ears.

"And I don't even have a single clue who this. . ." You raised a second finger, furrowed your brows trying to remember what they called the man.

"'Dagur' fellow is, is he famous?" You asked, not really expecting an answer.

But before you could continue, Snotlout interrupted you.

"You don't know who Dagur is?" The boy butted in, asking in genuine curiosity, which you replied with a deadpan shake of your head.

"'Dagur the Deranged'? Crazy guy with red hair and scratch tattoos on his eye? High Chief of the Berserker Tribe? Those don't ring a bell?" Snotlout kept adding more attributes to maybe make you recognize the man, but you were genuinely apathetic, an expressionless furrow of your brows only showing your feelings.

"Killed his father to become Chief?" Fishlegs tried to help by adding more description to the man, but you were tired already of getting information about a man you were sure you'd never meet.

". . . Okay, I think if I wasn't exiled from my tribe, I would probably know who he is," You raised both your shoulders, closing your eyes in indifference.

"Woah, you were exiled?" Astrid asked, surprised at the twist of events that the conversation came to.

"Awesome, what happened?" Ruffnut leaned in from her dragon, amused.

"Well, y'know—Vikings cutting off loose slack from their village is pretty common in my tribe, so when I chose not to kill dragons, they assumed I had already picked a side." You sniffed, fiddling with your fingers. Yes, you told your story with an air of comfortability, but remembering it still made you all clammy.

"Anyway, long story short: I was exiled, they sent me off with a boat where I crashed here, then this girl's mother," You pet the head of the albino reptile you were riding, its ruby eyes closing in comfort.

The Dragon Riders found the interaction weird—the large, scary, titan of a Screaming Death that almost made Berk sink into itself was acting like a docile pet, it was oddly adorable.

"Saved me from a bunch of Vikings trying to find the 'Dragon Riders'. Safe to say, if I wasn't saved by her mother, I'd be dead meat already," You finished your story, looking at each of their faces.

"I'm pretty sure you guys are those 'Dragon Riders', right?" You pointed to all of them, clarifying what you already assumed.

"I think so, there really isn't anybody else that would fit that description," He shrugged, humbly bragging.

"But why would they be following you at Screaming Death Island?" Hiccup asked, turning his face to you, visibly perplexed.

"I dunno, maybe because it's one of the islands near Berk and thought she was one of us?" Snotlout stated, as if it was obvious knowledge, which Hiccup deadpanned at his cousin.

"Anyway—am I cleared from your suspicions?" She looked back at all of them, the Dragon Riders seemingly in thought, until Tuffnut spoke up.

"Hmm. . . No," He concluded.

"And why is that?" You gritted your teeth and crossed your arms, slightly irritated.

"Because—rogue dragon rider—I haven't seen your whole face yet, especially your nose." He pointed, gesturing your whole face then your nose.

"Don't you know the nose is the window to the soul?" He asked rhetorically.

"I'm pretty sure it's the eyes that are the window to the soul," Fishlegs corrected, but he was waved off by Tuffnut's twin sister.

"Uhhh, no? If it's the eyes, where's the opening for you to see the soul?" She said in an obvious voice, as if she were talking to someone who couldn't quite comprehend properly.

Not wanting the dialogue to stray off the path again, you cut them off, starting to unwrap your shawl.

"Okay, how about I just take it off and you guys stop talking?" You unceremoniously take your hood off, making sure to take your time, and pull down your shawl that was covering the bottom half of your face.

They were all watching intensely, and when you tugged the mask down, Hiccup was awe-struck. You were beautiful, and just like the stars in the sky staring at the moon in admiration, Hiccup stared at you, all marveled gracing his face.

You were immensely pretty, and you were hiding it all from his eyes under that hood? Oh, you were killing him.

"There, happy now?" You looked at them, which were all looking at you like you were the most alluring thing they've seen all day.

"Oh, more than happy, beautiful," Snotlout adjusted his hair, complimenting you in a voice that sounded an octave deeper than his actual voice, an uncharming smile hitting your eyes.

"Might I just say, you look abysmal," Tuffnut praised, trying to smile in a way that looked like he was trying to smolder, which just made his sister faux gag.

But you smiled at the affection, humbly accepting it and laughing at Tuffnut's compliment. Abysmal meant something completely different, but you understood his attempt at flattering you.

"I'm pretty sure you meant something else, but thanks— both of you," You giggled, and glanced at Hiccup for a second, your attention sticking to him only for a moment, but lasting forever in his mind.

He shook his head to take him back to reality.

"So," He caught the other's focus, now listening to their head.

"I was actually thinking of us helping heal Groundsplitter," He further explicated what he meant.

"Oh, you don't. . . Have to do that," Your surprised voice and face faltered, still uneasy about a lot of Vikings helping you.

"Well, we'll just be gathering the ingredients and bringing them back to you, so it isn't much," He hit you with a humble smile, which made you follow his expression, a smile growing upon you.

"Uh? Hello. . .? We're still here y'know? Don't you have to ask us if we're also okay with it?" Snotlout sneered, annoyed already. You noticed that he seemed to be easily wound up at small things, and it made you snicker in delight.

"Okay. . . All in favor of helping Groundsplitter recover, raise your hand." He announced, with everyone except his cousin not raising his arm.

"Whatever. . . I was just checking the statistics," He mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Well, when do we start?" Astrid butted in, wanting to get the job under way already.

"Actually, I was thinking of maybe doing some friendship exercises with our dragons and your. . ." Hiccup looked to you, trailing off to hear what you named the Screaming Death.

Noticing his face skim yours, you immediately perk up, remembering you were still part of the conversation.

"Oh, I don't really plan on being with her long, so I didn't name her," You replied curtly, shrugging.

"Also, why do we need to do these. . ." You gestured to your dragon and the others.

"'Friendship exercises'?" Your fingers curling at each word emphasize your confusion

"Because it's pretty clear that they're still wary of her," Hiccup gestured to the other dragons, and you noticed their expressions. They looked on edge being in near vicinity of the Screaming Death, with their narrowed eyes, filled with tension thicker than anything.

All the while, the Screaming Death seemed to pay no attention to it.

"Well then what do we do?" You looked back at Hiccup, who seemed to have an idea up his sleeve.

"I have an idea or two," He said, smiling cheekily.

"When you said you had a great idea, I thought it would be something cooler," You replied, slight boredom lacing your voice, your arm stood on your thigh, your hand cupping your cheek.

"I didn't say I had a great idea, I just said I had one." He replied cheekily next to you.

"But the way you said it implied that it was something great, not. . ." You tried finding a way to say what you wanted in a polite manner.

"Babysitting them until they're all buddy-buddy with each other."

That was, for a lack of better word, what you were doing. Hiccup had decided that taking a step back and letting the dragons be comfortable with each other on their own would be better for them to create trust with the Screaming Death.

It seemed to work, with the Screaming Death interacting warily but with curious interest to the other dragons. It was a nice stepping stone to becoming friends, but Gods, was it immensely boring babysitting them.

"We're not babysitting them, we're watching over them, so they don't do anything bad, like accidentally eat each other," Hiccup corrected you.

"Still called babysitting," You added.

He sighed in defeat, just continuing to watch the various types of dragons. You both were still on Screaming Death Island, with the others leaving their dragons to both of you while they do their own thing—most of them exploring the deep tunnels made by the Whispering Death and its child—while you two were on babysitting duty.

It wasn't all that bad—you both were sharing a flat rock to sit on, and it was not a big sitting rock, just enough for two people to sit on with small distance from one another, barely touching shoulders.

Suddenly, Hiccup pulled out a book, a small one, but one large enough to keep notes, most likely his personal journal.

He opened it, flipping through the pages. It was wide open, so you couldn't help but take a glance.

You saw the multiple sketches, the multitude of notes and trivia he wrote about them—and most importantly, their names.

Monstrous Nightmare, Hideous Zippleback, Deadly Nadder— What are these names? You thought.

"They have names?" You meekly asked, slightly hesitant, but he paused his actions and looked at you with a polite confused manner. You were still focused on the writings he had on his journal.

"Oh, yeah. . . Did they not teach you that in your tribe?" He asked cautiously. He noticed the way you were playing with your fingers as a calming habit when you explained you story to his friends, understanding that it was still a touchy subject for you.

"No, they said it wasn't important, all we been thought is they were extremely dangerous and to—" You didn't

"Kill on sight," He finished for you, and you finally looked at him, your eyes meeting each other. You were really close. You noticed the way his eyes crinkled, and how his smile complimented his face. You even noticed the slight scratch on his chin, which seemed quite odd, but you found it quite charming.

Charming?

"They used to uh— tell us that too," Hiccup tore his eyes away every now and then, quite nervous from how long you were looking at him.

"And they didn't have names back then?" You queried, leaning in slightly.

"No, they did." Hiccup uttered, fiddling with a corner of a page.

"Do you. . . Want me to teach you, their names I mean. . .?" He hesitantly asked. Hiccup already knew you'd say yes, but there was a sliver of a chance you'd shy away, and he didn't want that.

"Yeah, if you could. . ." You muttered, smiling then looking at his book so he could start.

"Oh. . .! Okay, so I don't have all of them right now, but I think we could start with," He fanned through the pages, until he reached a page on a small-looking dragon.

"This one." He placed the book on his knees so that the pages would be flatter, which in turn made you scoot closer to have a closer look, now shoulder-to-shoulder with the boy.

"Terrible Terror. . .?" You leaned in to read, and hesitantly said what was the title of the page, trying it out and how it sounded on your tongue. You looked up to meet his eyes, wanting to see if you said it right.

You didn't have a sliver of a thought about it, but Hiccup was slightly overwhelmed.

The captivating, incalculable girl—who he also thought was cute— was practically all over his senses. You were touching him—the two of you shoulder-to-shoulder, he could smell the scented wildflowers you used in the mixture you gave to the Whispering Death earlier, your saccharine voice filling his ears, and how your eyes were searching for confirmation in his gaze.

You were flooding Hiccup's everything, practically getting sensory overload from how close he could feel all of you. He barely even remembered he was going to make you learn the dragon names.

"Uh— yeah, that's right— that is correct," He sputtered, but you didn't even notice, just proud of yourself for getting it right.

"They're. . . Kinda small, why is that?" You commented, reading the height measurements on the journal.

"I. . . Huh, actually, I don't know either," He smiled, surprised you asked something he wouldn't know about dragons.

"I thought you knew everything about dragons." You taunted, looking up at him.

"Ask me another question about it, and I'll have the answer."

And that's how the conversation flowed—you asking questions about numerous dragons, and Hiccup effortlessly answering them. With that, you got more comfortable with each other. You didn't even notice how close you were with one another until now, and as much as you shouldn't, you felt something flutter in your chest—just like a dozen Terrible Terrors flying about in you.

But you didn't mind.

And little did you know, he didn't also.

BONUS ✮⋆˙

Looking at the duo from afar while leaning on a rock, Astrid smiled. She was happy Hiccup was starting to be close with someone else other than their friend group.

She was quietly people watching them, until she was rudely startled.

"What are we looking at?" Tuff suddenly said from behind her near her ear, which made Astrid grab his shirt and throw him to the ground out of instinct.

"Uff. . ." Tuffnut groaned.

"Oh, they look pretty nice together," Ruffnut commented, walking up to his brother who walked up to the blonde Viking faster.

"Ahh, young love," Fishlegs gushed and suddenly popped up, with him clasping his hands near his face endearingly, as if he were some old, wise man.

"He's so annoying, first Astrid— now the cool dragon tamer girl," Snotlout grumbled, with Astrid rolling her eyes, her arms crossing.

They were all now looking at the boy and girl sitting on a rock, with Ruff noticing that Snotlout didn't list her.

"Hey, what about me?" She asked in an upset manner to the dark-haired Viking.

"Eh. . ." Was all Snotlout could say, earning him a hard hit to the helmet that still clanged to his head from the Thorston girl.

"Ow." He rubbed the back of his helmet, annoyed.

"Huh, he really does have a hittable head," She mused, looking at Astrid.

"See? What did I tell you," Tuffnut said, still laying down.

"Really? Let me try," Astrid rotated her wrist to warm her fist up, with Snotlout stopping her with his screeching voice.

"No one is hitting my head!"

woowee, hope y'all liked reading this one, i was dying trying to find 100 synonyms for smile lol (ᵕ—ᴗ—) might start writing the part 2 after i finish one more draft and maybe after i write the part 2 to 'ghost pirate' if y'all still want that :3

oh! also, thank you so much for the 100+ notes on my first post! ily all <3

anyway, thanks for reading (..◜ᴗ◝..)

[perfectquote]

If you have to speculate if someone loves you and wants to be with you, chances are they don’t. It’s not that complicated. Don’t waste moments waiting and wondering. Don’t throw away your time dreaming of someone who doesn’t want you. No one is that amazing, and certainly not someone who would pass you up.

Donna Lynn