"Alright guys, let's drop the foundation right about....here." Your dragons dropped the boulders and you all landed together. "That should work. Perfect location." Hiccup said, happy with the spot.

"I, for one, couldn't be happier that we're finally-" Fishlegs was cut off by Snotlout.

"Setting up the new watchtower. We know! We've been hearing about it for the past, oh, I don't know, week, month...what comes next?" You sighed.

"Guys, look, this is important. We've been seeing ships of the northern coast that have absolutely no reason to be there. Now with this, we can send up an early warning signal if they come into our waters." Hiccup explained.

"If you're talking about Dagur and Ryker, and that's who I assume we're talking about-" Snotlout began.

"Actually I wasn't referring to-"

"How about this? Whoever's out there that shouldn't be out there, let's just get on these very effective fire-breathing war machines and go off and blast them into oblivion." Snotlout offered.

"Because that's not who we are! Since when do we go blasting people into oblivion?" Hiccup asked.

"Don't worry, Hookster. He doesn't speak for us." You heard the twins cheering off in the distance.

"Woo-hoo!"

"Or them. Definitely not for them." He's got a point there. The twins are definitely destructive. Arrow seemed to share the same concerns. 

"Those two muttonheads better not bring all that snow up there down on us."

"It's not the snow I'm worried about." Hiccup began as their explosion started an avalanche. "It's the ice!!" You saw the twins wipe out and begin to roll.

"Come on!" You called. You all hurried to help them. You saw the twins fall. 

"Arrow! Fishlegs! Get the twins!" You ordered.

"On it!" Arrow replied. Arrow and Stromfly grabbed Tuff while Fishlegs and Meatlug got Ruff. Barf and Belch, however, were still in trouble.

"Barf!"

"Belch!" The twins called out to their according dragon. Well...dragon head.

"Come on, bud!" You dove after Hiccup as he went for the Zippleback. Hiccup grabbed them as they went over the edge. 

"Nightshade! Flame shield!" She fired a huge long wave of fire, blowing the snow and ice back against the cliff to keep it from raining down on Hiccup, Toothless, Barf, and Belch. They got out of there before Nightshade exhausted her fire. Nightshade stopped and you all went back to the watchtower area. The two dragons licked Hiccup gratefully.

"Okay, okay. I-I get it, you're welcome." Hiccup was about to get off of Toothless, but you noticed his leg was bent.

"Uh, Hiccup! I wouldn't do that if I were-"

"Ahh!" He fell.

"You." You chuckled. He saw it after he sat back up.

"Oh. Right." Barf and Belch helped him up. "Oh. Uh. Can you put me down, guys?" They set him down and he held onto Toothless for balance. "And it's for moments like these that I always carry a spare." He took out one of his spare legs and replaced it, putting the bent one into the bag. Then, you all turned to the twins.

"So! If that's all you need from us, then we'll just be going back to..." Tuff began. Hiccup wasn't amused.

"Toothless." Toothless shot a plasma blast at them.

"Hey! Your dragon just shot at us!" Tuff exclaimed.

"Yes, I know. I told him to."

"Not cool, T. Not cool at all," Tuff told the dragon.

"Anyway! Since you two seem so eager to spend some time away from the group, you get to pull the first two shifts of patrol duty." Hiccup assigned.

"He's really become a tyrant," Ruff muttered to her brother.

"Power will do that to you." You all ignored them and headed back to the base. You were minded your own business on the flight back when you saw that Hiccup kept glancing over at you out of the corner of your eye. The moment you turned to him though, he stopped. You raised an eyebrow at him and kept flying, heading back to your hut. Wonder what his deal is.

Hiccup's POV

She must've noticed I was looking at her. I gotta be more subtle about that. I made it back to my hut with Toothless. I thought about what I was planning on asking (Y/n) tonight. I wanted to confess to her so badly. I was going to set up my hut so that way I could have her over and have it be nice. 

My leg brought me out of my thoughts and plans, though. I grumbled. It wasn't comfortable. I sighed. 

"Ugh, this leg needs to be filed down. It's pinching me." I opened the door, but I was surprised to be greeted by a mountain of fish. "GAH! Wha- Oh, for the love of Thor! Who did this?! Wait a minute, why am I even asking? Ruff, Tuff! Oh, I got another shift with your names on it!" I said, smacking my fist down on the fish. Toothless came over and ate one. "Really? You're eating the evidence?" 

I sighed and pushed my way out of the fish. Great. (Y/n) is never going to enjoy anything if I smell like fish. Thanks, guys. I went over to Toothless after he had a few more fish. "Come on, bud. Let's find them so I can yell at them." I said, mounting him. We flew around for a bit, scanning over the trees below.

"All right, where are they? I guess you just look for a fire, or any other catastrophe, they'll be close by." I thought I saw something fly past us. I looked back, but there was nothing there. When I turned around, I saw Barf and Belch rushing toward us. Belch grabbed me and I shrieked. Toothless roared as he began to fall. "No! Belch! No, no, no, no! You drop me! You drop me right now!" He let go and I dove after Toothless. "Toothless!" We fell and landed hard on the ground. "You all there, bud? I think I am." Then, I noticed my leg. "Aaaand I spoke too soon." Toothless nudged me. "Oh, don't worry, bud. I always carry a spare for my spare." I replaced my leg again and then Barf and Belch dropped fish at my feet. "Wait a minute, it was you guys? You left me all that fish? Oh, okay, if you guys are here, and the twins are Thor knows where...then who's patrolling the island?"

I flew off with the Zippleback following me. I soon found the twins back at the base. I landed and the twins rushed up to them.

"Hiccup, you found 'em!" Tuff exclaimed.

"Where did you two go? You had us worried sick." Ruff added. They came back over to me.

"Wait, where'd they go? Well, let's start with they filled my hut with fish, crashed me and Toothless out of the sky, and, for their finale, they broke my second spare...leg!"

"So, if my calculations are correct, and they usually are..." Ruff began.

"That would mean that our dear Hiccup is on his..."

"Last leg!" They laughed together.

"Get it? See what we did? It's because of your leg. You don't have any more." Tuff explained.

"I think he gets it."

"Yeah, yeah. Listen-" I was cut off.

"Well, if you wanna flip the script, the new leg is slimming." Ruff complimented.

"Not that you need to be slimmed. I mean, I think, for your height, you've probably an ideal weight." I sighed guiding the dragon back over to them.

"The four of you belong together. Now, please, can you get back on patrol and try to keep these two... well- Oh, just go." I turned away. "Last leg." Toothless laughed. "Oh, don't laugh, Toothless. You're above that." I said as we took off again. Though the peace was short-lived. They were following us again.

"Oh, for the love of- Okay, bud. Let's ditch the Zippleback." We tried to shake them, but it wasn't working. "Oh, get away from me, you crazy dragon! Ugh. Are you serious?" We ducked into a cave. "I think we lost 'em." I heard a grumble. "And they're behind me, right?" Yep, they were. I groaned. I headed back to my hut with the two of them following close behind. I saw (Y/n) sitting on the beach with Nightshade as we headed back. "Hey, bud? Can you keep them occupied? I gotta talk to (Y/n)." He grumbled at me and I left the dragons together as Toothless kept them away. 

(Y/n) turned as I came closer. The sunset made it look like she had a goddess-like glow. It made my heart race.

"Oh! Hey, Hiccup! I heard you've been having trouble with the Zippleback." I nodded.

"U-uh, y-yeah. They won't leave me alone and I don't know why. Anyway, I actually wanted to talk to you."

"Oh. Sure! What's up?" I bit my lip.

"Well...I-I was wondering if you-" I was suddenly knocked over. And Barf and Belch are back. I can't believe this. She chuckled.

"Barf, Belch, can you give us some space please?" They listened and let me up. Nightshade went to play with the other dragons. I huffed.

"I can't take much more of this."

"Is that why you wanted to talk to me?" She asked. I turned.

"W-what? N-no! I wanted to talk to you about..." I hesitated. I wanted to ask her...but I just couldn't. With everything going on...a relationship would just make things even more complicated. "...h-how you taught Nightshade that move from earlier. It was really cool." I lied. She smiled.

"Oh! Of course!" She began to explain and I tried to make it look like I was happy while listening when deep down, I just wished I had the courage I needed. Why can I talk to you so well, but I still can't say a word to you at the same time?

Once it was time for us to get some rest, I said goodnight to her and she gave me a smile. She hugged me and I hugged back. "Night, Hiccup." Then, she turned and flew off with Nightshade while I went back to my own hut with Toothless....and Barf and Belch.

Your POV

*In the morning* 

You yawned as you headed out. As you walked out, you saw that Gobber was at the base. You were surprised. You hopped on Nightshade and headed over. You saw how grumpy and angry Hiccup looked and you could only guess why. You chuckled.

"Well, isn't this a happy sight to wake up to in the morning." You teased.

"Oh, don't even start." Hiccup told you. "Give me those." He said, reaching for the other legs Barf and Belch had.

"What is this?" Ruff asked as the dragon happily wrapped their necks around him.

"A neck hug? I never got a neck hug." Tuff muttered.

"So, you ruined all your legs, eh? Every single one?" Gobber asked.

"Well, all but this piece of garbage. Which, let's be honest, can we really call it a leg?" You chuckled as Hiccup realized Gobber's leg was the same as the wooden peg leg he was now using. "I mean... Oh, right. Of course we can. It's very slimming on you, Gobber." He attempted to save himself. Barf and Belch kept licking Hiccup and Toothless. You giggled. The sight was kinda adorable to you. It might not have been his dragon, but you couldn't help but laugh.

"Really? Right in front of our faces?" Tuff asked.

"We're here, you know. Right here!" Ruff added.

"That's weird. Zipplebacks are normally fiercely loyal. Why are they doting on Hiccup and ignoring you two?" Fishlegs wondered aloud.

"Well, didn't Hiccup pull them out of the way of a deadly avalanche?" Gobber asked.

"Yeah." Hiccup replied.

"Well, there you go. Same thing as my cousin, Bard. He saved a Zippleback from a Changewing. The two-headed beast wouldn't leave him alone, for years."

"So, this could go on for..." Tuff began.

"Ever. It's a life-debt. Barf and Belch will now serve Hiccup for the rest of their lives or until the debt is repaid. Whichever comes first."

"D-Does this mean we could be stuck with Barf and Belch forever?" Hiccup asked.

"Does this mean we could lose Barf and Belch forever?" Tuff asked.

"Yes, and yes," Gobber replied. Barf and Belch licked Hiccup again. 

All throughout the day the twins and Hiccup did everything they could to make Barf and Belch repay the debt. At the end of the day, you had been there to witness the failed Snotlout attack attempt. You went with Hiccup to the clubhouse with Snotlout and the twins. You helped him with the ice and made sure that Hiccup hadn't broken any of his bones as Hiccup scolded the twins.

"Well, a little warning would've been nice." He began.

"Well, to be honest, Hiccup, we figured out what was ruining our plans." Tuff started.

"It was you," Ruff added.

"Me?"

"You, my friend, are a terrible actor," Tuff told him.

"So you made Snotlout attack me?"

"Surprise is the word we prefer to use," Ruff explained.

"We needed a real reaction from you." 

"And, boy did we get one. Eh, Snotlout?" He spit out a tooth and you frowned.

"That's my tooth!" It came out as more of a whimper than a yell. You glared at the twins.

"Unfortunately, we weren't expecting Thor's mighty hammer to meet Snotlout's paper jaw." Snotlout yelled at them angrily. 

"Even I have to admit, that was more than I thought was gonna happen." You said, blushing slightly at the thought of how strong Hiccup really was. You can't really tell. Hiccup looked at you for a moment, blushing slightly as well when he saw your blush, but he brushed it off, continuing to deal with the twin.

"So, okay, you do realize if Barf and Belch had actually tried to save me, Snotlout would've been roasted alive?" Snotlout looked alarmed.

"Yeah. We took that into account in our risk assessment." Ruff admitted.

"Oh, this situation has gotten way out of hand." Hiccup groaned.

"Please, Hiccup, you've gotta help us. We're completely lost without our dragon. We have nothing to live for. Don't you understand?" Tuff asked.

"We will get you your dragon back. But, you two have to stop. Stop your plans, stop your schemes. Okay? I'm gonna figure this out." He began to leave. "I just need time alone." Toothless tried to follow him. "You too, bud." You sighed.

"Ruff, Tuff, help Snotlout. I'm gonna talk to him." They nodded and you went after Hiccup. You followed him as the sun began to set. You caught up to him in the woods. "Hiccup!" He turned.

"(Y/n), no offense, but you did hear me say alone, right?" You smiled softly at him.

"Yeah, I did. But sometimes alone means you really need somebody to talk to." He looked away, thinking about it. "I'd love to know what you're thinking." You urged. He sighed.

"I-I just-! I don't know what to do! I can't have them follow me around for the rest of my life! And the twins need their dragon! We can't be down two riders right now." You nodded.

"I know and I'm sure there's something we can do, but right now, I just want you to know that I'm here to help you." He smiled thankfully at you.

"Yeah, I know." Then, all of a sudden there was a bag over his head. You shrieked as the same thing happened to you. You heard Hiccup groan.

"Huh? Ah, oh, oh. Really, guys? What did I say? I said Come on, I'm serious! Would you let me go? No, seriously, just put me down! Hey! What are you doing? Okay, this is the single worst plan you have ever come up with." You, however, weren't sure that it was the twins doing this. Your theory was correct was it was revealed to be Dagur and Ryker.

"Oh, I don't know, brother. You're our prisoner. Seems like a brilliant plan to me. So, looks like your little island stronghold isn't so strong after all. It's completely unguarded from the North. You know, doesn't take much to put in a watchtower. No watchtower. What do you do without a watchtower? It's...it's preposterous." Neither of you said anything to him. You were focusing, trying to reach for your blade as inconspicuously as possible. "We are gonna extract every little piece of dragon knowledge from that tiny coconut-shaped noggin. We're gonna use you to take us to every island that Dragon Eye has led you to."

"And if I don't?"

"Well, we were just planning on catching you, but both of the leaders of the riders is even better!" Dagur laughed. And Ryker held his sword to your throat.

"I hope you don't talk. Because this'll be fun." Hiccup looked alarmed.

"Stay away from her!" You were currently getting ready to cut your ropes. You grinned.

"Don't worry, Hiccup." You told him. You cut your ropes and instantly knocked Ryker back, sending him flying across the ship. "I got this."

"What!?" Dagur exclaimed.

"How did you not see my weapons? They're very obvious!" You asked, grinning at him in disbelief. He glared at the men that caught you.

"We thought the ropes were tighter than that." One admitted sheepishly. Hiccup smiled and the fight began. You didn't have time to free him as the hunters were already coming at you. You yelped as one of them got a hit on you, knocking your weapons away as you fell on your back. Ryker chuckled as he raised his sword. 

"(Y/N)!" Then, a blast knocked the entire ship and Ryker stumbled. You got up and helped Hiccup as you saw Barf and Belch come in. You helped him stand. 

"Get to Barf and Belch. I need to grab my weapons." He nodded and hurried over to the dragon. 

"First time in a good long while that I've been happy to see you guys." They freed him as you grabbed your weapons. Barf and Belch took down some of the hunters for Hiccup and you fought the ones coming toward you. Barf and Belch did their distress signal as they kept fighting. Soon enough, you made it over to them and you and Hiccup were able to get in the air. You missed crashing into Arrow, Fishlegs, and Snotlout, but the twins, having taken Nightshade and Toothless, crashed into you instead. You dove after Nightshade as Hiccup went for Toothless. You both were able to get back in your own saddles and the twins were able to save Barf and Belch from drowning.

"Whoa! Yes!" Ruff cheered.

"Back in the saddle, baby!" Tuff cheered with her.

"Let's get these hunters away from Dragon's Edge!" Hiccup told them. You all fought off the ship.

"I missed this!"

"You can say that again, sister."

"Take out the catapults!" Arrow called. Soon enough, Dagur ordered a retreat before getting hit on the head with a wooden board. You laughed as you watched them retreat.

"And that takes care of that!" You called.

"Let's head back, guys!" Hiccup added and you all went back to the base to get some well-earned rest. Hiccup came over to you.

"Hey, uh, on the ship? That was really impressive."

"Next time I won't get knocked down." You told him with a smile. He smiled back and hugged you.

"I guess I should serve you now. After all...you saved my life." You blushed.

"I think you just being my friend is payment enough." He smiled as you both chuckled together.

"Good. I don't want to haul fish for you all day." He joked. You both laughed as you looked out at the stars and moon.

"I guess it's just another day for us, huh?" You asked. He nodded.

"Yeah. I guess it is."