A/N: *sniff* I can't believe it's over! *sniff* :-( Goodbye guys!

When I wake up, the room is dark; all the lights turned off.

I give myself over to panic, there in the darkness. What's happening?

Why isn't anyone here? Shouldn't there be SOMEBODY, like a nurse or doctor?

I groan, the pain in my shoulder finally reaching me.

It's already receding, though, so I don't pay it much attention.

All at once, I hear whispers outside the door. "He's sleeping for now. He should be waking up soon. You can see him if you like."

And in they come, Gobber and Astrid and Fishlegs and Snotlout and the twins.

I blink a few times, surprised.

When they come within earshot, I swallow and say, "Tell me now, what limb did I lose?"

Their faces remain grim, and suddenly everything that happened comes back to me. "What's going on?"

"Hiccup," Gobber says slowly, clapping a hand on my shoulder, "I'm sorry. We tried."

"What do you mean, 'we tried'?" I repeat, scared witless.

Astrid slowly steps forward and clasps my hands in hers. There's a streak of dirt on her cheek, her hair is messy, but she is still beautiful. "Hiccup, honey, Hiccup, look at me." She places a hand under my chin and gently tilts my head up, forcing me to look at her. "Hiccup, I'm so sorry. We tried, but…it didn't work out."

"What's going on?" I demand, starting to get angry. "WHAT HAPPENED?"

Gobber announces in a flat voice, "We tried. But the dragons…they're leaving."

I shoot up so suddenly I get dizzy, and the walls spin for a second. "What?! No, no, no! No, wait!"

I cling onto the bed railings and come to a crouching position, preparing to leap out of the bed.

"No, Hiccup!" Astrid lays a gentle hand on my chest. Her fingers feel warm through the thin fabric of my shirt. Is it natural? Is that natural?

"Go back to sleep."

Darkness threatens to engulf me and the missed hours of sleep want to rise up above me, but I ignore it, because it's not that bad for now.

"No! I…I need to see Toothless—

"He's staying," Astrid repeats tonelessly. "Don't worry."

"He's only staying because he can't fly!" I retort angrily. "Let me out, guys!"

"Hiccup, you're going to make yourself sick with this," Gobber says carefully. "Just relax. Give it a few hours, ok?"

"We don't HAVE a few hours!" I say, frustrated. "The dragons are leaving NOW!"

"There's nothing you can do!" Gobber roars. "The dragons are leaving, ok?"

"There's one thing I can do."

The day I get discharged, I run firstly to the other dragons. "Thank you for waiting."

Then I run to Toothless, who has been staying at my place.

Apparently, most of the Venom Winds were killed, and the ones that weren't ended up making peace with the Night Furies.

I bite my lip and slowly hold out the tail I made for Toothless. It will give him independent flight. Which will render him able to leave me.

But…it's what he wants. I've got to learn to accept that he'd rather be with his own kind.

Hell, he'd be BETTER OFF being with his own kind!

I angrily blink back my tears, determined not to cry until Toothless is gone.

Toothless very gently nudges my hand. Hiccup?

"Toothless, I don't want you to leave me," I tell him, and soon the tears are coming, bringing me to my knees. I wrap my arms around Toothless' long, thick neck. "I know you want to, so I won't stop you. But I will always remember you."

My voice is shaky as I continue. "I hope…I hope you have a lot of fun and I hope…I hope your new life is really nice and I hope I see you again someday."

I break the hug and turn away, pressing my nose into my hands, hoping to stem the flood of tears.

Toothless waits until my crying subsides again. Hiccup, come with me.

"What?" I sniffle, turning to face him.

You can, right?

"Yes…"

So why not?

I think about school. I can study by myself. I think of Gobber and Astrid and my other friends and how hard it will be to say goodbye to them.

But then I realize there really is no other circumstance in which I'd like to say goodbye to them.

So I turn to Toothless and just nod.

Toothless and I are getting ready to leave.

Gobber clutches my hand. "You have been an amazing boy, Hiccup. Until we meet again."

Suddenly, he gives me an awkward hug while also trying to make it look like he's merely clapping me on the back as he does so.

He pulls away and next is Fishlegs. He smiles at me and I hold up a fist.

We bump knuckles.

I give him a sad little smile. "I'm gonna miss you guys." Out of all of us, I'm the only dry-eyed person, which is surprising because I'm pretty sure Snotlout and Tuffnut were taking bets on when I was going to cry.

I sigh and say gently, "I'll try to visit in a few years."

Next come the twins, who eagerly punch my shoulders and Ruffnut swoops down and hugs me. "You're really great, Hiccup."

Snotlout parts the crowd easily with his broad shoulders. "Bye, weakling."

I don't know why you put up with him, Toothless comments.

I smile and clasp Snotlout's hand as he punches me with the other fist. "Hey, 'Lout. I'm gonna miss you, you know."

"Who wouldn't?" Snotlout counters, but he quickly wipes at his eyes with the sleeve of his jacket.

Resisting the urge to tease him, I wait as, slowly, slowly, Astrid steps up to me.

She punches me on the shoulder and I climb down from Toothless' saddle so we're eye-to-eye.

"Astrid…" This is the hardest goodbye. If only Dad were here, I think to myself and then I really do have to blink back tears.

She grabs me by the collar of my shirt and whispers, "Just shut up and kiss me, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third."

I comply, pressing my lips to hers.

She deepens the kiss and pushes her tongue into my mouth.

My hands slide to her waist, then up into her hair, tangling in her braid, and my fingers slowly come to rest on her cheek, and when we pull away, it's only because we would suffocate if we stayed like that.

Astrid and I stare at each other for a few minutes.

"Astrid…I love you and I know you can't come with me, but I am truly in love with you and no other girl could ever compare. I love you."

Then I lower my voice to a whisper and add, "Always."

Sometimes, being surrounded by a crowd can get annoying.

"Someday…" I wet my dry lips. "Someday, I want you to be Astrid Haddock."

Astrid smiles again and whispers, "Someday, I will be."

Her voice grows stronger. "And I will wait for you. I will wait for you and I will…I will think of you every day and I will wait until you come home for me."

I turn back to Toothless, getting ready to climb onto his back, but just before I can, Astrid slugs me in the back, kisses me on the back of my head, nuzzling her nose in my dark red hair and says quietly, "Come home, my hero."

And Toothless and I take off into the sky, away from my old life, away from everything I knew and loved.

Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye.

Goodbye...Dad.

Goodbye Astrid.

Goodbye Gobber.

Goodbye Dad.

Goodbye.