A/N: This was inspired by the Tone Death episode, where Hiccup sang a very warlike and fierce song to the dragon. Even though it was about making friends with Toothless. Anyway, Hiccup isn't exactly the type to sing war songs, is he? Thus, this was born! I wrote the first three paragraphs in 2016, then we found the release date for season 4, and I decided to finish writing this to celebrate! WOO! SEASON 4! FEBRUARY 17!

Hiccup was working on his fire sword as Astrid and the rest of the riders walked up behind him. Hiccup sensed their presence, and asked, "You guys don't like Inferno, so what about Endeavor? I really like that one, actually."

Astrid scratched her arm, oddly nervous, and said, "Yeah, Hiccup, that sounds cool. We were just wondering… where did you learn to sing like that?"

Hiccup stiffened, then turned around to give them his full attention, something that was unusual for Hiccup in 'inventor mode.' "It doesn't matter."

Ruffnut spluttered. "Doesn't matter? DOESN'T MATTER?! That was like, a war song! Even though it was about making friends with Toothless. How do you know how to sing like that?! It was, like, more manly than Snotlout!"

"That's not hard." Tuffnut just had to put his two cents in.

"Hey!" Everyone ignored Snotlout.

Hiccup turned back to his work. "Guys, please. I don't want to talk."

Ruffnut crossed her arms and scowled. "If you don't tell us, we'll go on strike."

"We will?"

"Quiet, Guppylegs, I'm talking!"

Astrid shook her head at Ruffnut's antics. "Guys, Hiccup doesn't want to talk. Leave him alone."

"Yeah, guys, let's go." Fishlegs was already walking out the door.

"No! We tell Hiccup everything, and he never tells us anything about himself!" Snotlout had gotten over his earlier irritation and was back to being his annoying, brash self.

Tuffnut studied Hiccup thoughtfully. "Keeping your emotions bottled up can lead to stress and self destructive behavior."

Everyone stared at Tuff. That was oddly thoughtful. 'He has a point." Heather said, breaking her previous silence.

That was it. Hiccup snapped. "FINE! You want to know? I got it from my Dad. He sang me war songs as a baby, trying to make me more warlike. More viking like. Getting me a tiny axe so I could train before I could walk. Telling me horribly gory stories as a child that gave me nightmares. He kept trying to make me more violent… more like you guys until I was ten and he gave up on me as a lost cause. He told me he had given up on me before the Final Exam. Do you know what it's like to be told you're the biggest failure that your family has ever had?! That you're the worst viking Berk has ever seen?! And it only stopped once I killed a dragon the size of a mountain! I still wake up and wonder why everyone's being so nice to me sometimes!" Hiccup's mouth snapped shut, as if he had said too much, and he made for the door.

Nobody stopped him, feeling shell shocked. That was all anyone had told him for fifteen years, wasn't it?

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Astrid found Hiccup sitting on a cliff, overlooking the sunset. She sat down beside him in silence for a few minutes, gathering her thoughts, then spoke. "You must think we're so shallow… I'm so shallow." No reply. "I feel shallow. I'm not going to say I'm sorry, because that won't change anything. But I'm here for you now, Hiccup. And I always will be."

As Astrid got up and began walking off, Hiccup spoke. "That's all I ever wanted, Astrid. Thank you."

Astrid smiled a bit, and laid a soft hand on his shoulder. "No, Hiccup. Thank you."

Hiccup kept staring off into space. "My Dad isn't that bad, you know. He kept trying to change me because he wanted me to be strong. Because being strong is being safe. He thought that if I wasn't strong enough, I would be killed by a dragon. Just like Mom. He tried his best… but as he once said, we never had anything to talk about. We were too different."

"Or maybe too similar."

"Maybe."

A/N: Agh, this is awful. Terrible. Utter crap. Please review, I need reviews. Sorry I haven't been writing much this month, school is being crazy, and academics always takes precedence. I'm drowning in French. And I haven't even started tennis yet… RTTE Season 4 though!