(Original chapter. Song Suggestion: Distance - Chistina Perri ft. Jason Mraz)

After everything with the Wing Maidens, Fishleg's ancestors, and Gruffnut lying about those crazy trials, you and Hiccup had been busy running around left and right. Everything had gotten so crazy that there wasn't a single day that passed by where you both weren't on edge.

You wanted to ask him about trying to find a day for yourselves. You had been nervous, but the more that happened the more you wanted time with him. You had made up your mind. Today, you were going to ask him.

You were heading to his hut. You hoped that he would say yes. It would mean a lot to you. You were also completely sure that both of you needed some time away.

You walked into his hut and saw that he was working on the Dragon Eye Two. He had been obsessed with it for days now. You hoped that you would be able to take his mind off of it for a while. He didn't even notice you had come in until you were right next to him.

"Gah! Oh, it's just you, (Y/n). You startled me." 

"Sorry, Hiccup." You saw him continue with whatever he had been doing. He waked off, grabbing something and tinkering with it a little. You breathed in and out, calming yourself. I got this. It's fine. Just ask him. Not hard at all.

"So, um, Hiccup, I was wondering if we could-" Hiccup set down the Dragon Eye Two.

"Actually, (Y/n), you came at the perfect time." He said. You smiled.

"Really?" You asked.

"Yeah, I could really use your help." You frowned a little. 

"Oh, um, okay. With what?" 

"I need you to run to Berk and get some more supplies. We need to reinforce the Edge in case there are any more attacks. You know, Jahlin and his team would be a big help. Think you can also ask if they can come for a few days?" More help then me and MY family? You thought a little bitterly.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." You replied.

"Thanks, (Y/n)!" He said and kept working. You frowned as he turned away from you.

"No problem!" You forced yourself to say it cheerfully. You walked out and sighed deeply. Well, that went horribly. 

You hopped back onto Nightshade and you both took off together. You flew alone all the way to Berk. It was a long and dull flight. You yawned, bored out of your mind and feeling a little down. You should've known Hiccup was too busy for anything right now. But then why did it sting so bad? You huffed, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in your gut. 

You made it to Berk without any trouble, but it was already nearly the end of the day. You sighed heavily, knowing you were going to be staying the night and heading out first thing in the morning. Stoick came over to you as you landed.

"Well, what brings you back to Berk so soon, (Y/n)?" He asked.

"Hiccup sent me for more supplies to reinforce the Edge. He also wants me to bring Jahlin's team so they can help out in making sure everything is properly set up."

"Jahlin's team? Why not send for your family? They've been around all this for far longer."

"I know right?" You agreed. You sighed heavily. "I wanted to ask him if we could spend time together, but he didn't even hear me. He just kept working with the new Dragon Eye." Stoick patted your shoulder.

"Hiccup can get lost in his own world. You know that, lass. Just give it time. I'm sure it will be fine." You nodded, knowing you should trust his word, but also feeling like it wasn't that simple. As you went to go find Jahlin, you bumped into someone.

"Oh! Hey, (Y/n)!" You were surprised.

"Um, hey, Gustav." You replied. Asta was with him, as usual. "What are you two up to?" 

"Uh...n-nothing! Just hanging out!" Gustav replied. You raised an eyebrow at him. Asta bumped him, smiling reassuringly. 

"Gustav was taking me to the arena. It's the first part of our date." Your mouth dropped open.

"D-date?" You couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, heh. I, um...kinda followed your example and asked if he liked me." Asta admitted, blushing. Gustav smiled a little, blushing as well. Your heart sank a little. Yeah, my great example. You thought bleakly. 

"That's...awesome, you two! Well, don't let me ruin your day. Go have fun!" You told them and they happily raced off. You sighed heavily. "They even got together younger than we did." You muttered.

You kept walking and you were soon able to find Nathan and Pepper. You smiled, relieved to be seeing friends instead of more couples. You walked over to them and waved. They waved back.

"Hey, (Y/n)! What are you doing back at Berk?" Pepper asked.

"I was looking for you guys. Hiccup wants some help with supplies and reinforcing the Edge. He wants your whole team to help." They both looked surprised.

"Oh, well, um...you see-"

"Not everyone can come." You turned, spotting Jahlin.

"Why is that?" You asked.

"I guess since you guys have been away from Berk, we forgot to tell you. Pepper and I have been dating for a while and um...we're doing our own gifts tomorrow. We want a day together before exchanging gifts." Nathan said. 

"I told them they deserve it after everything that's happened. Don't worry, we'll get Carl and Zane to replace them. They should be able to help just fine too." Jahlin explained. You nodded, forcing yourself to smile. You were internally groaning. Seriously!? Them too!?

"Sounds good!" You replied. 

"Oh, we should also bring Douko. Ash and Veera have been running off a lot together lately." Ash, while I'm having trouble being happy for you right now, how dare you not tell me about this.

"Man, there's just couples...everywhere, huh?" You said, trying not to sound petty. You were trying to play it off jokingly as you followed after Jahlin.

"Yeah, I guess so." 

"It feels kinda weird." You admitted. He looked at you questioningly.

"Uh...sure?" You realized your mistake.

"Oh, uh, sorry! Forget I said that." You replied. 

"Relationship troubles?" He asked. You were stunned.

"How did you-?"

"I know that look, (Y/n). I've seen it quiet a few times before." 

"You have?" You asked. "Do I really make it that often?"

"Oh, no! No, no, not on you." He assured. You were confused.

"Then...where?" He sighed.

"Well, Veera used to look that way with Leon until she changed for the better. But, for the most part? I've...seen it on myself."  

"Really? With who?" You asked. He laughed, a sadness entering his tone. 

"You just saw her." You were stunned.

"Pepper..." He nodded.

"Sometimes, things just arent meant to be. You and Hiccup, though? Ha! That's a match made in Valhala, no joke. You two go perfectly together." You thought about it. "Trust me, it will get better."

"It just seems like everyone is making time for each other except for him." Jahlin chuckled.

"Well, nobody else is a leader out of the people you've been seeing, are they?" You sighed heavily.

"Yeah, I know. I know." You replied.

"Just have patience, (Y/n). When things are better, he'll be right back to you again." 

"Alright. I guess you have a point. But I'm still going to kill Ash since he didn't tell me about him and Veera." Jahlin laughed.

"You know, Zane warned him about that!"

"Really!?"

"Yeah!"

"That's amazing!" You laughed. 

"There you go! Now you're laughing! Feel better?" He asked. You nodded.

"Yeah, thanks, Jahlin."

"Ah, no problem. Hey, you know what? Since Hiccup is busy, how about you and I spend a day together? It'll help us both get our minds off of...well...everything, honestly." He offered. You thought about it.

"Sounds good to me! I don't see why not! I want to get to know you better! We've been on the Edge so I honestly haven't had the chance to really spend time with any of you guys." Jahlin smiled.

"I look forward to actually finding out stuff about you myself rather than from second-hand sources. Kinda feels better getting it from the actual person, you know?" You laughed.

"I can imagine it would be, yeah!" You agreed. 

You both kept talking as you walked along together. It was honestly really nice to spend time with him. He was a really great guy. There were a lot of thing you didn't know about him. He was happy to talk about his interests. He was also happy to listen to yours.

As you both walked along, you soon came to his house. The team had all gotten places to stay at Berk. They weren't amazing houses, but they served very well according to Jahlin. You sighed heavily with a smile. You both turned to each other. You kinda didn't want to leave. You were enjoying hanging out with him.

"Well, um...I better head home for the night. We've got a lot of packing and a long flight tomorrow." Jahlin scratched the back of his neck.

"Hey, um...you can stay here for the night if you like." You weren't sure about his offer. You knew that he was trying to be helpful, but you weren't sure if that counted as weird or not. You thought about it for a moment and shrugged.

"Why not? Honestly, I've gotten used to sleeping in my own hut. I kinda like having less people running around the house." Jahlin laughed.

"Yeah, I bet." He welcomed you inside. "Oh, hey, you must be hungry. You want something to eat?" He asked.

"Yes, actually. It's been a long day." He chuckled and he cooked as you got the couch ready to sleep on. He called you over once the food was done. You were honestly impressed by how good of a cook he was. 

"Wow, Jahlin! I thought Tyrone was the cook. Where did you learn how to do this?" You asked.

"Well, Tyrone would need help sometimes so I picked up a few things." He replied.

"That sounds fun!" 

"Yeah! It was! Well...before Leon found out. He said I should be focusing on the skills I was supposed to have." You frowned. As you both sat there, eating quietly...you couldn't help but wonder something. Soon, you blurted out the question without even thinking.

"What...what is your guys' story?" Jahlin looked up at you.

"Our story?" He asked. You nodded, curiosity getting the better of you. Jahlin sighed heavily. "Well...it is a story..." He began. Then his gaze darkened. "but it's not a pretty one." You listened as he began to talk.

"I was found as a boy, adrift at see. The hunters took me in. They raised me, but I always felt like an outcast. I met Leon when I got older. We were teenagers back then. Kahn would always supervise us as we trained. It was apparent that Leon was a better fighter than me, so I worked on my stealth. Ever since then, I was promoted to spy work. I stole, I decided, I brought back intel, pretty much doing all of the dirty work in the shadows." He listed.

"That's awful..." You said, frowning.

"Yeah...I don't have many fond memories. That's why...when we were sent after you guys...I just couldn't let them hurt you. Leon had grown up with a reason to hate dragons. I had grown up witnessing the horrors of humans. We were polar opposites."

"So...what about the others?" You asked.

"The rest of my team? Eh, well, honestly we all have similar stories. We're kind of the outcasts of the world. Like, uh...Tyrone was boy when he killed his first dragon. He always tells me that the soul of that dragon still haunts him. For his nightmares and outbursts, he was thrown out of his village. He found the hunters and, having no other option, became their cook. Pepper was orphaned because of the hunters, but Viggo took her in and made her the equivalent of a maid. Nathan..." Jahlin stopped when he got to Nathan.

"What's Nathan's story?" You asked gently, not wanting to sound demanding.

"Nathan's story...is that he was actually sold into the hunting business." 

"Are you serous?" You asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, unfortunately. His father didn't want a son who wouldn't kill a dragon, so he sold him off to work for the hunters. Nathan had been trained to follow orders ever since." You shivered.

"That must be so awful... I mean, all of them are! It's just...to have your father sell you off...that's low." Jahlin chuckled darkly. 

"They're all nothing compared to Veera's story." You tilted your head.

"Veera's story?" You questioned. He nodded, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah. Hers was probably the worst." You were afraid to know what was considered 'worse' but you were already this far. You asked him anyway.

"How so?" He stared at his plate. 

"I was there...when it happened. Leon, Kahn, and I had been given our first solo mission. I was sent to scout a village nearby before we engaged, but when I got there everything was burned and destroyed. There were...bodies...just everywhere. I hated the smell of it the most. I had gotten used to bad sightings by that point on other missions with older supervisors."

"So...was Veera a survivor?" You asked.

"Yes...and no." Kahlin replied.

"Wait, what?" 

"She had survived the initial attack, but the dragon that had done it was still there. We watched it from a distance until it suddenly started chasing something. We ran after it and I will never forget what I saw."

"What? What happened?" You asked, intrigued. He looked you in the eyes.

"We saw the dragon swallow her whole." Your heart stopped. "Kahn and I were in shock, but Leon...something in him snapped when he saw that. Before either of us could move the dragon's head was off and he was tearing into it's stomach. That was the most horrific thing I've ever seen. I just remember seeing her almost collapse out of the stomach with...everything else and I saw Leon holding her and shaking her like it was nothing. I blacked out after that, the gross fumes and shock of it all causing me to faint."

"Oh my Gods..." You couldn't even imagine it. "No wonder she was so attached to him before." You breathed.

"Yeah, I was shocked when she changed her mind. I mean, with her village it was all the dragon's fault. She doesn't really know what happened. She says she remembers the dragon being there, but she didn't see it kill anybody before her tribe started attacking. Then it was just the fire and the rampage that ended to town. The people that fled on ships just never returned."

"Maybe it was just all the chaos. I bet the dragon only did that because it was scared. It probably hunted her because it didn't trust her. While I wish it ended differently, I don't know how much better things could've gotten at that point." You admitted.

"I don't know either." He sighed. "But, I guess it's all in the past, isn't it?" You nodded.

"Yeah. I guess it is." 

The two of you talked for a while longer and you told him about your story with Hiccup. He seemed to like it, enjoying the adventure and the 'forbiddeness' of it all. He also laughed at the part about when Arrow found out. The story of your first flight with Hiccup was his favorite though. He seemed to like the idea of you two on the beach together as the two nerds you had both been. He found your, in your own words, 'awkward teenage years' funny. You laughed a little at the end of the story with you punching Hiccup before kissing him.

"Sing number one that you liked him from the very beginning. I don't know how it took you both so long to figure it out! I think Johann had a point with it being obvious." You blushed.

"Yeah, yeah, well, a lot was always happening! Plus we were pretty young! It just never felt like the right time! Plus, both of us were pretty nervous about it."

"Yeah, well, you get what I'm saying. You two just seem to hesitate too much. You need to start just going for it!" 

"Are you serious?" You asked with a disbelieving grin.

"Yeah! I mean, come on! You gotta admit that there are still things holding you back!" You thought about it.

"I mean...I dunno..."

"The first thing that comes to my mind is embarrassment." 

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you both are embarrassed to do anything in front of other people. You're...reclusive, let's say. You need to be more confident around others and around each other. The nervousness you mentioned is also holding you back. While you both know each other well, you only show it when one of you it at your lowest point. You both need to start showing it all the time." He pointed out.

"I...guess that does make sense. But what if he's not ready for it? What if he doesn't like it? What if we're just not the 'go for it' type of couple? I don't know, there's just so much to factor into it all."

"That's another thing. Both of you think way too much about this stuff. Just trust yourself, (Y/n). It'll be alright." He stood up. "Now, we should both get some rest. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks for the talk, Jahlin. It helps." He gave you a sweet smile.

"Anytime." 

*The next day*

As Jahlin and his team came along with Carl, Zane, and Douko, you all got to work all day on helping reinforce the Edge. Arrow helped as well, but the Twins and Snotlout took their chance to good off. 

You were annoyed by the fact that they weren't helping, so you went to get Hiccup. As you found him and Fishlegs, you saw that the two were working on something together. You listened in, not really knowing why you didn't want to be seen, but following your gut regardless.

"I'm so excited to go to Ice Pit Island again! There so much there we haven't documented!" Fishlegs said excitedly.

"Yeah! And with the other hard at work on the Edge, it gives us the perfect chance to go. I'm glad I finally found an excuse to get away. I need a good break." Hiccup agreed. You were shocked. Hiccup only had us do this to catch a break? You felt hurt that he would lie to you like that. You hurried off, rejoining the others. 

You got on Nightshade and told Jahlin that you were going to hunt down Snotlout and the Twins. You hurried off without waiting for a reply. You were angry and you felt a bit betrayed. You couldn't believe that he would ask to go with Fishlegs instead of you. Or at least that he would only take Fishlegs instead of BOTH of you. 

You found Snotlout and the Twins in their stupid cave hideout. You rolled your eyes at them and landed with your arms crossed. They all looked nervous at your angry glare. Snotlout came over to you first.

"(Y/n)! Finally! I was just trying to tell these muttonheads that we need to help with the Edge instead of playing games!"

"Excue me!?" Ruff snapped.

"That is low Snot-man. Real low." Tuff added.

"Come on you three, we have work to do." You told them, not even caring about their antics today. As you all got back, Snotlout asked,

"Hey, where's Hiccup and Fishface?" 

"They already left. They'll be back by sundown." Jahlin replied.

"Haha! Wow! That's gotta suck! Hicclegs is together and left you behind! Guess we know which couple is the real couple!" Snotlout laughed and got to work. You frowned, feeling even more hurt. Shut up, Snotlout...

Hiccup's POV

I went to ask Jahlin where (Y/n) was. I wanted her to come with me and Fishlegs. I was really hoping to get some time in with her. I couldn't wait to get away! It was actually part of the reason I had planned all of this. I wanted to surprise her. 

"Hey, Jahlin! Where's (Y/n)?" I called.

"Oh, she just left to go find Snotlout and the Twins