I wake up to the evening sun, proving we only had a nap. I look down, and see vicious curls and a bare back laying into my currently bare front. I close my eyes, confused, but then all the recollections from the past few ours smack into me like a brick. Intense make out sessions are rather tiring for both parties, apparently.

I smile, and Merida shifts a little further into me, mumbling in her light sleep. The rock we lay on is warm, from the soft rays of the day. I stretch my loose arm, reaching out and meeting an article of clothing. I don't know who it belonged to, but I don't care. Merida makes a little humming noise, and sighs, which is something I've noticed she does right before she wakes up. Seconds later, she stretches a little and turns to me, and peeks open her eyes.

"Hi." She whispers, and I just laugh.

"Hi yourself."

"Oh shut up. I gotta go home soon." She sighs dissapointedly, and frowns. I just tighten the grip on her shoulder, as if in a hug.

"It's ok, we still have a week. The boys get here, when, in 5 days?"

"Yeah." Another sigh from the princess.

"Well, let's get moving. The sooner you're home, the sooner you're asleep, the sooner you're awake, which means the sooner you see me."

"You're greedy, but you're my greedy dragon boy."

"Dragon man. I'm you're dragon man." I smile as I stretch and pick up the princess, carrying her bridal style to the edge of the rock, where I call Toothless to pick us up.

"Oh really?" she jests as we climb on Toothless, smirking. Once we're on safely, I notice Angus isn't down there. I'm about to ask her about it, but she gets me first. "Are true dragon men… ticklish?" Oh no.

"Merida no no no no-" But she grips my sides and starts wiggling her fingers around, letting the slow curls of her hair dance on my shoulders, tickling them as well.

"I DIDN'T THINK SO!" She shouts into the air, as I sit curled up, squealing like a little girl at the touches.

"Mer… Merida… no no stop…"

"Nope!" she goes for my neck with her hands and my head curls back at the feeling and I wiggle around, breathless at the tickling assault. She finally stops once we get near the castle, and I catch my breath with her.

"That… was… really, truly… rather rude, Mer." I breathe out between gasps.

"Nuh uh… that was… absolutely… hilarious." She says staggered. I turn around, and see a grinning red head, and I just lean over and plop a quick kiss on her.

"You're hilarious."

"I know." She says, straightening up into her self-dubbed 'royal position'.

"You're so vain."

"You're not much better, Mr. 'Are you looking at my glorious muscles?"

"Cause you were!" she so was.

"Was not!"

"Was too!

"Nuh uh!"

"Uh Huh!"

"Fine. But you were staring at me in the forest that one time, and at sunrise last week."

"I know." I just smirk at the princess as Toothless lands at the edge of the tree line. "I'll see you tomorrow, princess."

"As soon as possible, dragon boy." And she skips off to the castle, smirking.

"That's dragon MAN to you!" I shout back, and hear her little giggle as she pushes open the door and disappears.

5 days later, I sit watching the sun rise from my rooftop. I hear a rustle and I immediately hop onto Toothless, and land on the other side of the wall of shrubbery.

"Hey dragon boy." Grins a cheeky red head.

"My princess."

"Oh shut up, hic. To the beach?" I sigh; knowing today is our last day together, without her being betrothed. But I have a way to stop that. So I smile at the princess.

"Yeah." We make our way to the beach, following the rapidly rising sun. We plop on the beach, and she settles into my arms, sitting in between my legs.

"Can you go over everything again? I don't wanna forget anything and have it mess up, getting you or toothless hurt and me stuck to any dude but you."

"Yeah. Ok, so when the boys come, Berk will take the dragons to the new ring, right?"

"Yeah. And I sit watching, and say something about how I don't like the Gronkle, right?"

"Say that it's too lumpy, or it offends you or something. But say that you have an alternative, one that Berk has never seen, only heard about. Then I'll bring out Toothless, who won't have his gear on."

"Oh, mother wanted for you to handle the dragons in the ring, so you're gonna have to be there." Crap. Guess I'll just sit with Toothless, beforehand.

"Ok. I'll be with Toothless."

"I figured as such, you big lump."

"Ouch. That hurt." I feign offense. She giggles, but her face falls.

"But once Berk wimps out and the others fail, Mother will just make me choose another activity."

"Mer, you gotta trust me. I'll make sure that won't happen." Small yet strong arms curl around my waist, and Merida lays her head on my shoulders.

"I know. I'm just scared. I mean, what if it doesn't work?"

"Then I deal with it when it occurs. Now, let's just forget about it and enjoy the few hours until all hell breaks loose."

"Fine." We just lay there, in each other's arms, not a word spoken, but so much said between us, until the distant sound of bells take me back to the pain of reality. I look down at Merida, who dozed off in the past 10 minutes, sound asleep in the crook of my arm, snoring quietly, face at peace. I smile at the princess' un-royal ways, and shift a little, making sure not to wake the sleeping beauty. I sit up, and manage to get the Scot in my arms, and start carrying her back home, and I make it to where the trail meets the beach when she does her signature hum and sigh, and twists a little, but suddenly stops. I just chuckle to myself, knowing she's awake, but not wanting to break the moment. So I walk the path, carrying my princess like a child, and her snuggled up against my chest, head on my shoulder, hair everywhere. Once I feel we're nearing the end of the trail, I shift Merida to face me, who rubs her eyes and looks at me with big blue eyes. Half awake, she yawns and looks at me.

"You have a really nice heart, Hiccup."

"What?" I say, not knowing how to take the compliment. Merida giggles like a child, but I'm still confused. "Thanks, I think."

"You do. It's very comforting, and really steady. It almost put me back to sleep." The princess says, a little more awake then before.

"Glad I can put that on the list of things I can ruin you with." I chuckle, thinking of them all.

"Like what?"

"You know, things that make you all awkward or, apparently, sleepy. My heart beat makes you tired, there's this one face I pull sometimes that makes you bright red, and my bare stomach can get you to stutter." A long silence, and stare off, ensues after. She looks at me with a deadpan look, and me with a knowing look. I give her the look that makes her red, and she immediately retorts.

"I hate you."

"You love me."

"I know."

"Listen, Mer, you gotta go get ready. It sounds like people are here, so I'll see you soon in the ring, ok?"

"Yeah." She sighs to the ground.

"Hey, don't get too sad on me. You and I are gonna be fine. Everyone else will be too." Eh, maybe. I'll probably have Toothless toss Snotlout around in the ring.

"Promise?"

"Promise." I pull Merida into a passionate kiss, before letting go and watching her go to the castle. She turns at the door, and I just smile and motion for her to go on before heading back for Toothless.

An hour later, I'm hiding in the tree line with a tired, sleepy dragon behind me watching Merida tell off my uncle, father, and Gobber about how she doesn't like the Gronkle. They begrudgingly take it back to the boat, and lead the others to the ring. I watch them lock the three up, which I feel very bad about, and wait for them to head into the great hall before leading Toothless into the ring. I had taken more time than expected getting all my riding gear off Toothless, who suddenly became very protective of the metal and leather which adorned his back. It usually only takes seconds to get it on or off, but playing chase the dragon, which happens to be the fastest dragon known to mankind, it took a while. But I put Toothless in the stable/ring thing, and close myself in there with him. The individual rooms were made of stone, like Berk's ring, but the top third of the separating walls weren't there, as if like a stable door, letting the dragons see each other. I explained to Toothless, who had gotten a better sense of human language recently, that I wasn't here to hurt any of the dragons, and for them not to kill anyone. The dragons watched as I dawned my riding mask, so I know they'll recognize me in it. After 5 minutes of reassurance and scratches, I convinced Toothless to stay, but I had to forfeit my spare tunic to calm the overprotective dragon. I snuck away into the great hall, and stood in the shadows, masked by the all black riding suit and helmet, and watched the chiefs present their sons.

Macintosh was painted with blue paint, and girls everywhere except from Berk and Merida were swooning over him. Next was Maguffin, who just stood there silently, and smiled at Merida sheepishly. Dingwall just stared at air the whole time. But Berk, Berk whooped and hollered at the presentation of Snotlout. Merida looked disgusted with his flirtatious looks, as vigilant as ever, and his bodybuilder poses. He looked like a pompous jerk, really.

Astrid sighed and smacked her face behind him. She had grown up, looking tall, powerful, and, well, beautiful. But not in that way, he had Merida. She was pretty in the way of a friend who moved away, I was proud how well she had turned out. I felt as if my leaving allowed that. Ruff and Tuff were fighting as usual, but they were silent, so I guess that was their view of respect. They're trying. Fishlegs watched all around, intrigued at the new place, and seemed to notice me, masked, hiding in the shadows. I just shook my head as to say 'no', and he turned his face. But I caught the gaze of Merida, whose eyes lit up, but had to look away for some reason.

"It is customary for the princess to determine the challenge." The Queen's voice radiates outwards, before she turns to Merida. "What shall it be?" she says, knowing.

"I know some of you may have seen the dragons brought here by Berk, and I would like to say that I am a very strong, dangerous person, and to win my heart, I must be subdued. So, naturally, I'd like to give you some training for that. Dragons are the first thing that came to mind when it comes to strong and dangerous. You will be working with dragons; actually, you will be training dragons."

A collective gasp echoed throughout the Great Hall, and a few men dropped their weapons in bewilderment.

"What do you mean, training dragons?" shouted Snotlout, who is about the color of a sheet. "Why not kill the things?"

"Because, Snotface," Merida's mother gave her a horrified look, while Merida pretended not to know his name.

"Uh, your highness in all your beauty," Merida and I both scoffed at his words. "It's actually Snotlout."

"Anyways, I am fierce, like a dragon. I am strong, like a dragon, dangerous even. But most importantly, I am lethal, like a dragon. And I assume you don't have it in plans to kill me? Because that would greatly hinder your chances at my hand in marriage. And if you plan to earn my trust, would you pull a weapon on me? I do not think so. Therefore, absolutely ZERO weapons will be allowed near the dragons. We can't have cheaters. If I, my family, or anyone else sees a weapon, even a small knife, you will eliminate your whole tribe for the chance of my hand. So you will learn to cope with your chosen dragon without defense, as you will learn to cope with me, if you succeed in winning my heart and hand." Merida says, with all the confidence in the world, while everyone but King Fergus and I watch with bewilderment and fear, as the Princess puts a little of her mind out to Snotlout. And the result was fantastic. Snotlout was obviously crushed by her remark, and by fear and respect for the royal red head.

"Ok then." Is his hushed reply.

"Are there any more questions? No? None? Ok, now, I will meet you out in the ring in exactly half an hour. Pile your weapons here, and go." Merida ended curtly, and glanced at me, and smiled slightly and nodded. I returned the favor right before I slipped out, and went back to the ring, right before the Clans and Berk made it there. I can hear the cheers of the crowd, before Merida shuts them up.

"Who shall go first?" The Queen lightly says, and is returned with an almost deafening roar of each clan screaming their name. Merida stands up, and they all are shushed. "Macintosh will go first." Nobody dared question the princess, as the tall, lanky but muscular boy with a wild black mare approached the ring, hands shaking a little.

"I'm ready." I smile and release the cocky dragon for the cocky boy. If they knew how to get along, they'd be great companions for each other. But the Monstrous Nightmare bursts out of its cage, flaming body running around the ring as I wait in the cage. Young Macintosh just stands there, frozen in shock. The Nightmare locked eyes with the boy, and slowly approached, growling.

Young Macintosh suddenly thought it would be a genius idea to attack the dragon, forcing it to subdue. Obviously not the right plan. The nightmare lit itself on fire, and charged Macintosh, and went to strike with his tail. But the dragon I dubbed Hookfang in my mind stopped his fiery bludgeon inches from the boys head, and instead set his glorious locks ablaze. He stood there, confused for a moment, but soon felt the heat too close to his head, and made a mad dash for the water trough and plunged his head in.

"Macintosh, you're out." Called Merida, much to the distaste of his clan. The boy sulked out, hair smoldering with one strand still lit. He reached up and pinched it out of existence with his fingers. "Next, Maguffin"

Moments later, the big hulk of the not-quite-Fishlegs-but-almost boy stepped out, and I lifted the latch for the Nadder after petting her a little. Stormfly was just a big old softy, honestly. But I looked out after soothing Toothless, only to see Merida on the brink of laughter, and Young Macintosh pinned to the wooden door by the scruff of his kilt. He just silently walks out, leaving the Zippleback for Dingwall and Toothless for Snotlout. Although Snotface fit him much better.

"I… I'm ready… I think." Mumbled Dingwall, his crazy hair everywhere to match his crazy eyes. I let loose the Zippleback, and Dingwall immediately grabbed a handful of water and threw it on a dragon head, much like training all those years ago. But he made the same mistake I did, and dampened the gaseous head, which immediately spewed the foul smelling gas in his face. When the smoke cleared, Dingwall sat confused in a pile of his own vomit.

"Eww, Dingwall, you're out. And someone please clean that up?" shouted Merida, voicing the thoughts of everyone there. After the vomit was gone, and I pulled the Zippleback back into its cage, I ran over hand motions with Toothless, and heard heavy footsteps enter the ring.

"You know, babe, I got this, and I'll personally present the trained dragon of whatever that dragon is to you, and I'll let you bask in my hero status." Snotlout flirted with Merida. I looked at Toothless, and added in another motion, just because Snotlout.

"Uh huh, sure. Knock yourself out. Please." Merida said, with double meaning.

"I am ready to conquer the mysterious-" Which is about when Toothless jumped out, teeth bared, growling. "Night fury." Snotlout squeaked at the end. Right about now, Berkians realized it too.

Calls of "NIGHT FURY!" "KILL IT" rang through the air, but Merida shut them up fast.

"NOBODY kills a dragon. Snotlout will train him for me." and all the Vikings cowered in fear. Except one pompous, cocky moron. Snotlout.

"I'll train this dragon so hard, it'll get food for us, your highness." Snotlout said, as it the unholy offspring of lightning and death was just a mouse. I sat in the shadows, directing Toothless' every move with signals, and I decide it's time for the one Snotlout earned by his little comment earlier. I make a gesture as if I'm blowing a kiss, but Toothless understands, and sends a small plasma blast, just enough to knock off his helmet. Snotlout immediately screamed like a little girl, and bolted for the exit, begging to be let out. Someone snatches him up, and Toothless settles in the dragon stable where I reside, and I snap on his gear. I step out, in full armor, and can practically hear the confusion.

"Who are you, and what is your purpose here, boy?" Merida calls out, like we had practiced. I just nod, and release the dragons, except toothless. Easily, I gain their trust thanks to Toothless' talking to, and they all trust me. I snap, and Toothless bounds out of the stable, bumping into my arm, and I just laugh and hop onto the saddle. Merida says with growing fake anger over the wild murmurs of the crowd, "I said, who are you?" she says, teeth gritted in false irritation. I see the faintest of smiles on her.

"Why, I'm terribly sorry, my princess." I hear whispers from the crowd at my use of 'my princess', and a glare from her mother. I pull my helmet off, revealing and meeting eye to eye with a nonetheless shocked Fergus and Elinor, a giddy Merida, and three slack jawed triplets. I turn to my tribe, my father, and declare myself loudly. "My name is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third." A gasp came from the entirety of Berk, and I just smiled at their shocked reactions, which resulted in the three clans giving the island tribe a weird look. "And I believe, Berk, youknow Snotlout is the heir, considering he's the cousin to the deceased heir, Stoick's son." Now all the Scots, especially the royal family, were confused.

"Hiccup, what do you mean?" said Merida, right above a whisper.

I just smiled warmly at the princess, and turned to my flabbergasted father. "Hi dad." And with that, the Viking chief slumped down in his chair, passed out, and Gobber looked so happy he could explode.

"Hiccup?" "Hiccup!" Gobber screamed, while my dad tried to regain his consciousness.

"Yes, yes, not dead tada. Now excuse me, I think I just won myself my girlfriend's hand in marriage." I turn to said red head, who stared blankly and all of a sudden it clicked in her mind and she started screaming and running over to me, throwing open the door to the ring, ignoring her mother's warnings of the dragons, and crashing into me with a crazed hug, laughing and crying and being an emotional mess, and everyone just watches onto us as I grab her by her waist and we crash our lips together for a quick, but passionate kiss. Happily, Merida turns to her family, mainly her dad.

"Can we keep him?" she teases, rubbing a hand on my head as if I was a dog.

"Well, if he doesn't bite." Jokes back her father, and with a happy grin he looks at me, and I feel like there's everything right with the world. Toothless sees her, and butts his head under her other hand, demanding a scratch.

"I think he wants to go flying." I say, and at the word Toothless perks up, and bounds around the ring, overly excited.

"Let's go!" shouts Merida as she hops onto Toothless' saddle, and waits for me eagerly.

"Sir…" I start to ask Fergus, but he chuckles and waves us off, turning to Elinor and kissing her cheek, much to the disgust of the triplet princes. I hop on, sliding my feet in the stirrups, and we take off, into the sunset, lopsided grins on all three of our faces.