Fire and the Thud [Hiccup x Reader]

When The Sun Goes Down

“How about you pick this time?” he offered. I was a bit taken aback, mainly because Hiccup had been the brains behind basically every single thing we'd done since I had came back to Berk.

“We haven't gone to the beach yet, have we?” I thought aloud, and he nodded.

“To the beach,” he announced before gesturing forward, “After you, milady.”

I turned back to raise my eyebrow in his direction but he only stared back at me.

“It's not like the beach has gone anywhere since you left,” he added. I huffed a laugh softly before starting to walk.
---
“I just realized that I've never asked you about your old island,” Hiccup said. We'd made it to the beach not too long after leaving my house, and had been walking along the shoreline next to one another, just talking about anything that came to mind.

“So I guess this means you're going to ask now?” I replied with a slight smile. He nodded, and I sighed quietly.

“I don't know. It was nice, I guess. I didn't really have much going on,” I shrugged.

“Did you leave another poor best friend back on Aedria?” he teased, and I laughed, shaking my head.

“Shut up, I didn't even have a best friend there,” I muttered. I felt his eyes on me for a moment.

“You're kidding?” he said, but I shook my head again.

“Nah.. You were the only one,” I added playfully.

“I am honored,” he chuckled.

---

We walked a bit longer in comfortable quietness as the sun began setting, and I watched it slowly disappear under the horizon before Hiccup broke the silence.

“It's going to start getting colder. We should probably start a fire over there,” he gestured toward a few rocks further up the hill of the beach. I had honestly expected him to say that we should probably head home, but this was a pleasant surprise.

“Okay,” I said softly, following him toward the area. Once we reached it, he glanced around before holding up a hand.

“Stay here,” he murmured before disappearing, and I waited patiently until he returned with several pieces of wood.

“Where'd you manage to find that?” I asked as he started to set the firewood up.

“There's always some scattered along the beach,” he explained before returning to silence. I watched as he focused on trying to start a flame, and it took him a few tries before the wood sparked. He smiled victoriously before sitting on one of the rocks. I glanced his way, and he gave me a playful smile before patting the rock next to him. I rolled my eyes, biting back a grin before taking a seat.

“So I've been trying to draw dragons recently,” I said suddenly. I wasn't sure why I decided to announce it, but Hiccup looked genuinely interested.

“Really?” He turned to me with a curious expression. I nodded, playing with my fingers.

“Yeah. They're not going very well but..” I shrugged, not sure what else to say.

“Could I see them? Not now, obviously, but I'm sure they're better than mine,” he chuckled. I almost scoffed in reply.

“Seriously, Hiccup, you're a lot better than I am,” I said, shaking my head.

“That's not true!”

“Yeah, it is. I mean, you're the whole reason I started trying to draw when we were younger, honestly. I just wanted to be like you,” I admitted, glancing towards the fire.

“What?” Hiccup said softly a couple moments later. I didn't reply, only continued watching the flames flicker and crackle.

“Sorry, it's just.. You wanted to be like me? I was so.. lame, and useless, I mean--”

“No you weren't,” I interrupted him sharply. He stopped mid-sentence, staring at me quietly.

“At least not to me. Why do you think you were my best friend?” I added, finally feeling brave enough to hold his gaze. He was the shy one now, eyes flickering away.

“You've always been different, but a good different. Everyone who thought otherwise was just missing out,” I finished quietly, returning my eyes to the fire. I didn't know if there was something in the air but I was feeling awfully sappy tonight and admitting things I normally wouldn't have been able to say with a straight face.

I heard Hiccup shifting beside me and I turned to say something, anything that would change the subject but I was caught off-guard by sudden warm lips pressed against mine. I froze, blinking rapidly in surprise until he pulled away a couple seconds later, his shocked expression mirroring my own.

“I..” He didn't manage another word, and I still wasn't able to comprehend what had just happened. He stood up quickly, backing away before mumbling an apology, turning around and rushing off. I watched his silhouette disappear, mind completely blank of any coherent thoughts.

---

Hiccup rushed into his house, barely able to understand the words coming from his father as he headed up to his room. He muttered a halfhearted excuse before he reached the second floor, swearing under his breath. Toothless' ears perked up upon his entry, and the dragon watched Hiccup with curious eyes.

“We're leaving,” Hiccup said suddenly, starting over towards Toothless. Two pairs of green eyes met, and Toothless huffed a noise and rolled his eyes in a way that very clearly told his rider that he wasn't going anywhere at this time. Hiccup paused before sighing, bending down to pet Toothless' head gently.

“You're right, bud, it's pretty late for that, huh?” he murmured. Toothless grumbled in agreement before huddling into himself, eyelids falling shut again. Hiccup had no other choice but to start changing into his sleepwear, mind racing a mile a minute. He couldn't even fall asleep as quickly as he normally should have been able to, plagued with mental replays of what had happened before. He had felt terrible, especially since he had left (Y/N) on the beach. He didn't mean to, he was just so shocked about the whole thing that he wasn't able to think straight at the time. He finally decided upon an impromptu flying trip the next day before drifting asleep

---

I had spent a good half hour sitting by the fire after Hiccup had left, trying to gather my thoughts. If I was honest with myself, which I was trying very hard to be, I was pretty thrilled about the kiss itself. The only thing wrong was, well, everything else. The fact that Hiccup had a girlfriend (who was not me) and the fact that he had kissed me despite that and the fact that I didn't feel as bad about it as I should have. I settled on looking for anything nearby that would carry water, and put out the fire before making my way to my own home.

The first thing I noticed upon entering the house was that instead of a single bed towards the back of the room, where my mom was asleep, there was another bed. In it was my aunt. It was odd, especially since the last time I remembered seeing her bed there was 5 years ago, but I couldn't exactly ask about it right now. I rubbed my face with my hands before heading upstairs, not even bothering to change before climbing into my bed, burying my face in my pillow and trying to forget the past hour. The more I tried, the more I could recall the feel of his kiss, and the more I wanted to scream in frustration. I decided, sleepily, that I hated boys.