You waited for Hiccup to say the word. This was very important and you wanted to be ready. You had no doubts about your ability, but you wanted to make sure you did your best regardless.

"And go!" You all took off. You followed after Hiccup to the ship targets. You had the firebombs ready. "Three, two, one!" Hiccup called, dropping his own. You quickly went and fired at your own target. Yes! Direct hit! You thought happily as you headed back quickly. Hiccup landed just before you. Arrow and Heather joined you soon after. Fishlegs was a bit slower, but the Twins and Snotlout were last. Hiccup turned to them as they landed. "Slow and inaccurate. That's, uh, quite a combo." He said, his tone clearly showing his annoyance.

"It was also our parents' nicknames for us! My nickname was 'Slow', which I thought was inaccurate." Tuff replied.

"Viggo doesn't know we found his shipyard yet. We'll only have one chance at knocking out his fleet. We have to get it right." Hiccup told them.

"We can try again tomorrow, Hiccup. Let's get back to the Edge before nightfall." You told him. He nodded.

"Saddle up, gang!" He called and you chuckled as you followed after him. Nightshade glided beside Toothless and the two dragons gave each other friendly barks and purrs. You saw that Hiccup was lost in thought again.

"Hey, don't make your brain explode over there." He turned.

"W-what?" He asked, confused.

"With a hard stare like that, your brain must be having trouble keeping up with all your thoughts. I would hate for your head to explode mid-flight." You told him, grinning. He relaxed, smiling a little as he understood the joke.

"Har, har. Very clever, (Y/n)." You chuckled as you both kept flying. 

"So?" You asked. 

"I was just...thinking about all this. It has to be perfect." 

"Well, don't forget the most important lesson with that word, Hiccup." 

"What lesson?" He asked. 

"Practice makes perfect, Hiccup." He looked surprised for a moment, but then, he smiled. "We'll get it right. So stop worrying. You can worry once we actually get to do the mission." 

"Okay, okay, I get it." He replied. After a moment, he looked over at you again. "Thanks, (Y/n)." You smiled.

"Always and anytime." You replied as you all kept going, wanting to make it home before dark.

You made it back and Hiccup said he was going to get some rest before dinner. You honestly felt the same way. You and Nightshade went to your hut, but you paused as you remembered something.

"Sorry, girl. I'll be right back!" You told her, hurrying off to Hiccup's hut. You made it to his hut and you didn't bother with knocking since you knew Hiccup couldn't have been asleep yet. You walked in and instantly called to him.

"Hey, Hiccup! I forgot to talk to you about-"

"(Y/n)!" You paused as a different voice said your name. Your eyes widened in shock.

"Dagur!?" Hiccup rushed to explain.

"H-he was here when we got back! I-I just found out myself." You nodded. Dagur rushed up to you and gave you a hug.

"It's good to see you! I see you two are still as close as ever, hahaha!" He said, nearly crushing you in his hug.

"Y-yep! G-going good, Dagur! C-can I have my lungs and ribs in one piece, please?" You asked him with a pain-filled smile. He quickly let go.

"Oh! Sorry! You okay?" You chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm used to this. More people do it than you think." You told him. He smiled.

"Oh! Good. I-I mean, that you're used to it. N-not that you're getting crushed." He explained. You nodded.

"I know, Dagur." He smiled.

"Anyway! I came because I'm looking for Heather! I haven't seen a trace of her!" You looked at Hiccup and he gave you a pleading look. You knew what that meant.

"I'm sure she's alright, Dagur." 

"I know she's strong, but I still need to find her! I gotta have a dragon!"

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"To find Heather, I need to cover more ground faster! Dragony fast!" Dagur explained.

"Yeah, I-I don't think so." Hiccup said. You didn't know how you felt about it. You didn't completely trust Dagur, but...he saved Hiccup's life, Toothless' life, Nightshade's life, and your own life as well. It was hard to overlook that. Almost as if reading your thoughts, Dagur pointed this out.

"Hiccup! You and Toothless owe me. I saved your lives! I saved (Y/n) and Nightshade too!"

"You also tried to kill us." Hiccup told him. Okay, that's true too.

"Did I...really? I think maybe in here, I never really wanted to!" He said, gesturing to his heart.

"Oh, gods." Hiccup groaned. He leaned against one of his chests, trying to think. "I-I can't train you to ride a dragon."

"Why not?"

"I...don't have the time." He lied.

"Oh. You're too busy. I get it. Sorry. Get I'll be going. First maybe I'll, you know, take a stroll around the base. See a few old friends. Make a few apologies." Hiccup quickly stopped him.

"Uh. No, no, no, no. Uh, you can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because, uh, you've got to be up early tomorrow, uh..." You cut in quickly.

"To start your training!" You told him with a smile. He looked stunned.

"Are you serious? But I thought-"

"I have some time and I'm sure that if I help Hiccup with whatever he's busy with later, that'll give him time too!" You said, praying that Hiccup wouldn't be mad about what you'd just offered. Hiccup nodded quickly in agreement, making you slightly less nervous about him being mad.

"Y-yeah! Exactly! Okay, well, we'll meet first thing in the morning on the far side of the island. That's where the best wild dragons are. Actually, you should go there right now and camp out for the night!" Dagur hugged him happily.

"Great idea! Thank you, Hiccup! Thank you!!"

"Don't-don't mention it."

"You're so small and cuddly." You raised an eyebrow at Dagur. What? "Though I'm sure (Y/n) knows all about that? Huh, huh?" He hinted. You blushed insanely. Hiccup blushed too.

"Please never say that again!" He said quickly. While it had been embarrassing, Hiccup's reaction to it stung a little. "Uh, so I'll see you later. Remember, on the far, far side of the island." Dagur hurried off and Hiccup sighed heavily. 

"Sorry, Hiccup. It was the first thing I could think of." You told him.

"No, I probably would've said the same thing. Gods, what are we going to do?" You thought about it.

"You know, the others are going to find out eventually." Hiccup looked alarmed.

"But what about Heather!? We can't let them see each other! She hasn't even been here that long!" Hiccup said.

"I know! I know, Hiccup. Calm down." You told him, taking his hands in your own. "It'll be alright. I have an idea." 

"You do?"

"Yes. At dinner, I'll act like something's bothering me. You need to be the one to notice it. Once a good chance comes, ask me what's wrong and we'll go from there." He smiled softly at you.

"How are you so good at stuff like this? You seem to have a better plan than I do every single time." You smiled softly at him and cupped his cheek.

"Not for everything. You've got to stop doing that. You're a great leader, Hiccup. Don't look at me as if I should be in charge. I have my own team to take care of, you know that. I'm part of both teams, but this isn't my team. You're the leader here. I'm just here when you need somebody to make sure you don't get yourself killed. Stoick would send me to Valhalla after you if I wasn't here for that." He chuckled slightly.

"Yeah...yeah, I know. I just...you really do give me so much to look up to. I don't know how you know this stuff, but you do. You really are the most amazing person I've ever met." You gave him a hug.

"I could say the same to you, Hiccup. We learn from each other. You aren't the only one who's watching others. I have a lot to learn too. It's part of progression and growing up." You told him. He nodded.

"I know. Thanks for being here. I would've gotten myself into an even bigger mess if you hadn't come over here." You laughed.

"Like I said, somebody has to keep your head on straight!" You both hugged again and then, you let go. "See you at dinner, okay?" You gave him a sweet peck on the cheek. He blushed slightly.

"Y-yeah, see ya." You left and went to go get a little bit of sleep before supper. 

You told Nightshade what happened and then you both relaxed together to catch a few moments of rest. You yawned and laid your arm around her neck as she rested her head on your lap. It was nice having her next to you. Both of you really did love sleeping side by side. You were cuddle bugs to say the least.

"Sleep tight, girl." You yawned and she purred back before you both got some sleep.

*At dinner*

You and Heather had finished cooking everything and Tuff kept going on about how he couldn't decide whose cooking he liked better. You both chuckled as he ranted on and on for five minutes about it. 

"Well, at least he likes it." You whispered to Heather.

"No kidding. I'd rather have him rant over that instead of how much he hates it." You both chuckled to each other as Tuff finally began to finish his rant.

After a little while of eating, jokes were being made and laughs were had. You laughed at a few before you started to put on your distracted act. It wasn't until the third joke that you hadn't really laughed at that Hiccup had started to notice. Well, pretended just to notice. He'd been keeping a close eye on you, waiting for your signal.

"But somebody better explain how yak stew got in my pants! It was so warm." Tuff said, finishing his joke and making everybody laugh. You didn't laugh at all that time and Hiccup knew it was time.

"Hey, uh, you okay, (Y/n)? You've been a little quiet these past few minutes." Hiccup spoke up. You looked up and everyone looked at each other before turning to you, realizing he was right.

"I've just been...thinking." You told them. Heather pressed you.

"About what?"

"Well, as I was thinking about the mission, one thing led to another and...I started thinking about Dagur." They all were listening now.

"What about Dagur?" Arrow asked.

"Well...what happened to him? We haven't seen him since the Flightmare incident and...you ever wonder why he helped Heather? It just doesn't make sense to me. Do you think...he actually felt bad?"

"He helped her probably as a distraction so he could get away himself," Arrow said, doubting that Dagur of all people would feel bad about something.

"Maybe. I don't know. But what if it was actually the first step on a path toward a new life?" Hiccup said.

"A new life? Dagur? A dragon doesn't change its markings, Hiccup!" Heather growled.

"Uh, technically-" Fishlegs began.

"Except for a Changewing, yes, I know." 

"And a-"

"You get the point!" Heather told you all.

"Right. You're probably right. But then again, uh, who would've thought that my father, Stoick the Vast, would ever learn to ride a dragon? You never know. Next time we see Dagur-" Hiccup was cut off by an enraged Heather.

"I'll split the father-killer in TWO!" She yelled, taking her axe and cutting a table in half out of her anger. You jumped a little. So that's a no on the family reunion. Hiccup seemed to agree with you.

"Huh. Yep. Okay. I think we get your point." He said nervously.

"I better go. I have island patrol tonight." Heather sighed.

"Uh Actually, I'll take that. I have a way more important mission for you." Hiccup told her.

"You do?"

"Of course I do. It's, uh, one final recon mission to check out our target. You and Snotlout." Hiccup said quickly.

"What are you talking about? We went last time." Snotlout said.

"I know. That's why I'm sending you again. Because, um..." You helped him again.

"If we send you both again, you two can be on the lookout for any last-minute changes. You'll know the differences better than the rest of us." You explained.

"Yes! Exactly!" Hiccup agreed.

"That sort of makes sense." Heather said.

"And you should leave tonight." Hiccup told her.

"Tonight? But I haven't even packed! Argh! It's gonna take a whole day to get there." Snotlout said, frustrated.

"Jeez, Hiccup, are you trying to get rid of us?" Heather asked with a chuckled.

"Yes. NO! No! That's crazy! Why would I-?" Hiccup struggled. Heather laughed.

"I'm kidding, Hiccup. Relax. Come on, Snotlout. Sooner we leave, the sooner we get back." Heather said as they headed out.

"Take your time." You looked at him. Seriously!? He quickly saved himself. "And by that, I mean be safe!" He called. He sighed heavily to himself and you knew you had to get him out of there.

"I think this mission is getting to you Hiccup. You should go to bed and get some rest." He looked at you, confused. "Now." You hinted. His eyes widened.

"Oh! U-uh, y-yeah! I've *fake yawn* been a little all over the place lately. Good idea, (Y/n)." He began to leave.

"N-night, gang!" He called and hurried away. 

"Wow, he really has been worked up this mission. He's acting really off." Arrow said.

"Well, that's what stress will do to ya." You covered for him. They all nodded in agreement. You faked a yawn as well. "I'm going to get some rest too. Night, guys." 

"Night, (Y/n)." Arrow said as you headed off. You went to Hiccup's hut. You walked in and found him pacing inside. You rolled your eyes.

"You really need to work on how to be subtle, you know." You said, catching his attention. He sighed heavily.

"Sorry, I panicked."

"That's nothing new to me by now." You teased him. He began to relax as you joked with him.

"I don't understand how you can always make me feel better." You bumped him playfully.

"It's one of my many talents." You bragged with a grin. He rolled his eyes, grinning as well.

"Whatever you say."

"Come on, we'd better figure out what dragon we're going to give Dagur." You said. You both took to the air and hurried away to find a wild dragon for Dagur. You looked around. Hiccup made sure that it was a dragon that wasn't very dangerous.

"There!" He said, diving down. You both landed and found a green Gronckle that seemed like a happy and nice dragon. You smiled.

"I think it'll actually be a really good dragon for him! I mean, did you see how nauseous he looked on Toothless when he saved us?" You both chuckled.

"Yeah, well, we also can't give him something super dangerous because...well..." You nodded.

"I know. It's hard to trust him, but I'm glad that you're giving him a chance." He looked over at you.

"I'm more impressed that you're giving him a chance! I mean, after what he did to your family? I...I thought you would've killed him as soon as you saw him." Hiccup admitted. You looked away.

"Hiccup...he saved your life. I won't forget that." You told him.

"Wait, he saved your life too. Why are you just talking about mine?" You looked away.

"Y-you're my best friend. I think about you before myself." You told him. It wasn't a lie. You pushed it away. "Come on, let's get this Gronckle somewhere that we can keep him until morning." You said, hurrying forward on Nightshade. Hiccup followed after you, saying nothing more.

You were able to wrangle the Gronckle and get him to respond to a whistle. It was enough to get him to come to you both when you called in the morning and that was all you needed. After getting him to respond to you both, you both decided to call it a night. You said goodbye to Hiccup and went to your hut to get a good night's sleep.

*The next morning*

You and Hiccup went to go meet Dagur on the far side of the island. You spotted him down below and you flew down to meet him. He saw you coming and excitedly waved you both over to him.

"Finally! Not mad, just excited!" He explained quickly. You smiled.

"I can tell! Being eager to learn is a good thing, but remember, it's best to take it slow at first." You told him.

"Right!" Dagur agreed quickly. "Been thinking about what dragon I should ride. Something that makes a statement. You don't have any Skrills hanging around, do you?" 

"What? No." Hiccup told him.

"Well, I suppose I could settle for a Night Fury. Not the same 'zhush' as a Skrill, but I could get by." Toothless growled slightly at the comment.

"Sorry, he's one of a kind." Hiccup explained.

"How about a Razorwhip? Like Heather's?"

"Dagur, we already picked out a dragon for you. You're gonna love it." Hiccup told him. You whistled for the dragon.

"He's awesome, right? And dangerous? Because I already picked out a name. Shattermaster!" The Gronckle leaped out, wagging his tail excitedly. "Is, uh, is this my dragon's breakfast?" Dagur asked.

"No, this is Shattermaster! The perfect dragon for you. Stable, easy to ride." Hiccup listed.

"Yeah, uh, I am not riding that dragon." Dagur said.

"Then you're not riding any dragon." Hiccup told him. 

"It's beneath me."

"Not yet. Prove to me that you can even get on it."

"Yeah, come on, Dagur! If you want a different dragon, you've got to show us you can handle this one first." You told him with an encouraging smile.

"Easy." He went to get on, but Shattermaster backed up and Dagur fell flat on his face. He got back up quickly. "I got this!" He chased after it. "Get-get back here!"

"Dagur, no!" Hiccup warned. Dagur hopped on, but Shattermaster threw him off. He fell over the cliff, but he caught a tree, saving himself. "Are you okay?" Hiccup asked.

"You made your point, Hiccup. We'll do it your way." He said. You had Nightshade help him back onto land and you began to work with Dagur on teaching him how to train and ride a dragon. He was able to start soon enough and you all took to the air.

The process wasn't too hard, but Dagur did always seem to do something to mess himself up. He was either too eager or not paying attention. You saw him fall after accidentally grabbing his dragon's wing. Toothless and Hiccup were able to catch him. 

"Thanks, T!" Dagur called.

"Maybe we should try something a little more down to earth." You all flew down and you started teaching Dagur how to go around trees. You and Nightshade went ahead first, showing him an easy path. 

"Come on, Dagur! Just follow us!" You told him. He did, but Hiccup called over to him, staying beside him while you flew a little ways ahead. "You're trying to steer him too much. You need to trust your dragon, Dagur. He doesn't want to hit the trees any more than you do."

"If you say so!" Dagur called. Suddenly, he started going faster. He passed you and Hiccup called out to him

"Slow down, you're not ready for-gah!" Dagur hit a tree, bounced back, and crashed into Hiccup and Toothless. They tumbled and you doubled back, landing beside them,

"You boys alright?" You asked. Dagur got up.

"Bad, Dagur, bad! I'm sorry, Hiccup." He scolded himself.

"You're trying to do too much too soon." He looked at his leg. It was bent. "Great. I can't fly Toothless like this."

"Gimme it. I can straighten it out." Dagur tried to fix it.

"No, no, no, no, no!" It broke. He frowned.

"Oops. Here you go." Hiccup sighed.

"It's okay. I have a spare back at my hut. I'll take your dragon and (Y/n) and I will be