Fire and the Thud [Hiccup x Reader]

Library Pictures

After I had basically trespassed into Hiccup's home, he'd been letting me come over just to read the Dragon Manual whenever I felt like it. If I had it my way, I would've spent 10 hours straight just reading it all at once, but apparently people have 'things to do' and it's 'weird even for me to read something for so long', so I had to spread out my learning over the course of a week.

 On this particular morning, I wasn't reading the Book of Dragons at Hiccup's home, but instead he had decided that we venture into a particular area of the island that I hadn't been to before. It was basically just a really long walk through the forest, but the final spot itself was rather pleasant. He'd brought the book, as well as a folded up map. It didn't have much on it, but Hiccup had informed me that it was a work in progress, and his goal was to map out as much of the islands around Berk and beyond as he could.

 I was leaning against one of the larger boulders in this area, with the map spread open on the grass in front of my hands. Hiccup had been pointing out certain symbols on it for a bit before he had walked a few feet away, keeping his back towards me. I stared at him for ten seconds, but he didn't do anything except rummage around for something, so I went back to observing the map.

 “Oh, hey, didn't your birthday just pass?” Hiccup asked casually. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. He was still facing away from me.

“Actually, yeah it did, how did you remember...?” I drifted off, eyes trailing along the drawn islands.

 “Whoops, is this a present I have for you? Maybe?” he said, pulling out a small leather pouch from seemingly nowhere. I furrowed my eyebrows, lifting my eyes toward him. He was biting his bottom lip, trying to fight a smile while he shrugged, holding out the bag. I looked at it for a couple seconds before returning my gaze to his face.

 “You did not.”

 “Oh, trust me, I did.. And you can't refuse it since it's a birthday gift. Take it!” he exclaimed, shaking the bag a little bit in an effort to get me to grab it. I inhaled deeply, pursing my lips.

“(Y/N)..” Hiccup raised an eyebrow before sighing, crossing his empty hand over his chest and holding his upper arm. I stared at him silently.

“Please take it?” he asked, tilting his head. I finally reached out and took the pouch.

“Now I owe you about 5 of these,” I mumbled to myself as I began to untie the string. He laughed, crossing his arms.

“It's fine, I promise,” he replied.

I felt some sort of metal in the bag, and I narrowed my eyes in confusion before managing to pull out whatever it was. I heard my breath hitch when I realized it was a piece of jewelry, specifically a necklace. It was a simple chain with a silver pendant in my hand, and I recognized the Book of Dragons' cover emblem. I traced my fingernail along the dragon and felt the indentation of the design.

“I know you don't have your dragon or anything yet, but you're always reading the book so I thought you might like it, I don't know..” Hiccup shrugged, resting his hands on his hips. I only stared incredulously at it in my fingers.

“Now that I think about it, it seems like a dumb idea.. I'm sorry, I could make you something else?” he rambled, resting his left hand on the back of his neck. He looked a bit embarrassed as well, and I couldn't really think of anything to say that would let him know that it wasn't a dumb idea at all.

So I opted on throwing my arms around his shoulders and hugging him as tightly as I could manage. He seemed a bit surprised and it took him a couple seconds to hug me back, but when he did I wasn't quite sure I could let go. Luckily I managed to do so a bit later, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear.