This one-shot was actually inspired by a conversation I and a friend of mine had on Tumblr concerning Hiccup and Toothless and all the adorable moments we would've liked to see before the franchise officially ends. Hiccup accidentally ending up spending the night with Toothless and Toothless then missing the boy's presence the following night(s) was one of the things we discussed.

Really, it's all thanks to her that this was written!

Stay The Night

The small Viking he had met weeks ago was really growing on the Night Fury. As was the name he had been given, 'Toothless'. He had no idea what it meant yet, but he had no objections against it thus far. Besides, it seemed easy enough for the human boy to say.

The young Viking remained nameless. The humans had a word for everything as far as he could tell, but this youngster had yet to even mention what he had called himself. So Toothless had taken to simply calling the boy Viking, Scrawny, or a combination of the two.

Though, he did not really prefer the former. This boy had already proven himself too good to be called a Viking, who had been known to be killers of dragonkind.

Scrawny wasn't like them. Scrawny was an odd human boy and not just because he did not fit the description of the typical dragon killing Viking with how small and lanky he appeared to be and how not threatening with his kind features, but he had oddities and quirks he never would've thought them to have.

It had all started that one fateful day when Scrawny had come to visit him in their cove and brought him a fish to make up for all the trouble he had caused the dragon. Or it was a sign of good will at the very least.

That was the moment he had first made that sound, the first time he had said 'toothless' in his strange largely verbal way of communicating. After that he had continued to use it, usually to address the Night Fury, as he had come to figure out along the way.

The human language was an intricate one and they seemed to have similar and different words to describe the same thing, but Toothless was learning more every time Scrawny came to him.

That day after Toothless had decided to share the fish with the Viking young, he had made a strange expression that he had since then come to know was a good sign. He had come to know it as a 'smile' because that's what Scrawny seemed to call it and he did it whenever he seemed to be having fun.

He was also capable of laughing. Or that is what Toothless guessed that it was because it sounded so similar to a dragon's own guttural laughter.

After the 'smile', Scrawny had tried to get a little too close too soon because the boy apparently had no sense of personal space or self-preservation. The Night Fury, out of respect for the good gesture behind the fish, had decided to distance himself because the human boy certainly wasn't going to go away willingly.

It was then that the oddities suddenly showed themselves, after Toothless had awoken from a much needed nap after an entire night of failing to catch fish in the lake he now lived by. He had woken up, hanging upside down from a thick branch, to find the human child doing something he had come to know as 'drawing'.

With a thin stick was he creating lines in the dirt that created the same image Toothless saw every time he saw his own reflection in water. Scrawny was 'drawing' him and he had done it so quickly with such smooth movements, Toothless knew the boy must be doing this often.

He had tried it then too, this 'drawing' had seemed so fun. Grabbing a much thicker branch by ripping it right off of a tree, he had returned the favour and attempted to draw Scrawny. For his first drawing, it had ended up quite good.

Scrawny had danced across the lines after teasing him with them, humans were full of surprises it seems, they had a lot of draconic traits, only to end up right in front of the Night Fury.

Toothless had not minded the intrusion of his personal space then. He rarely even let other dragons this close to him, but this one Viking young had quickly become an exception. He had once again attempted to touch him because the boy could not keep his hands to himself for long, but Toothless had allowed him this time.

He allowed him, so long as the boy could give him the trust the Night Fury was giving him.

That day their meeting had come to a quiet end when Scrawny had silently escaped the cove in a way Toothless could only call confused, looking back at him from over his shoulder often enough while holding his right hand in an odd almost disbelieving way.

What followed was a journey of discovery when Scrawny returned the next day with a whole bunch of fish in this strange brown object used to carry them in on his back and something leathery held under his arm.

The Night Fury had soon found out that, somehow someway, Scrawny could return him his flight, but not by healing what he had broken. He had made him a new tailfin. He had taken those two strange paws Vikings used for killing, 'hands', and instead created something to replace the dragon's lost limb.

It could never compare to his real one, but he had flown for just a moment. He had tasted the sky and felt the wind and suddenly realized how truly special this particular Viking was.

And that was only the beginning.

Scrawny wasn't just capable of mercy and creating wonderful things with his hands, but he was kind, he was compassionate, he was curious, he was eager to learn. He was showing all sorts of traits the Night Fury never would've imagined a human to be capable off.

It was just one surprise after another. The laughing, the creativity, the fun,... Before long Toothless had realized he'd grown attached to the human young.

And he had only realized one evening when Scrawny, purely by accident, had somehow fallen asleep by his side.

They had another wild day behind them. Just like a hatchling who had first tasted the gift of flight, Scrawny was eager to help the dragon back into the sky. And in return Toothless wanted to take him up there with him. He, too, deserved to feel what it was like to have the wind rush through his fur and chill his skin.

Their first real flight together was drawing closer and closer, but this required practice, this required refining the intricate contraption the Viking had created, and that was what they had been doing. Meanwhile they took plenty of breaks to play and learn more about eachother. Human offspring, it turns out, had more in common with draconic fledglings than dragonkind had previously thought.

Toothless had to be careful when playing the part of 'ferocious predator', of course. He swatted harmlessly with his claws just to elicit a reaction from him and bit down with toothless gums just hard enough to make him yelp more out of surprise than anything.

It wasn't scaring him. Scrawny seemed to understand it was just harmless fun. It was why Toothless came to believe that Viking hatchlings must like playfighting growing too.

Their day came to an end just like that. After a few practice rounds of familiarizing Scrawny with the tailfin and how it's supposed to work, a couple of intense fights, and a meal, human and dragon settled by the side of the lake. The former leaning against the latter for warmth.

Scrawny spoke about his home, which the humans called 'Berk' and the other Viking young he's mentioned a few times before. Toothless could very faintly smell them on him too, faint enough to help him know they weren't as close as Scrawny's words were leading him to believe.

And as sad as it was, Toothless had also come to learn the maternal and paternal scents usually clinging to children was strangely absent with him too. The mother's scent wasn't even there at all. The smells clinging to him the most was that of metal and smoke instead.

Scrawny had been talking endlessly, using animated gestures with his hands much like how a dragon would use body language to speak to another. The Night Fury didn't know weither this was a human trait or one that Scrawny had made his own, but it was an amusing thing to see.

Toothless had laid his head down, still listening attentively to words he did not fully understand just yet, and it took him a little while to notice that Scrawny had grown quiet.

Too quiet.

Eyes snapping open in alarm and head shooting up to look at the boy, the Night Fury found Scrawny's eyes to be closed, his body still, and his face peaceful, his chest heaving steadily with even breaths. He was sleeping.

After sniffing the boy briefly, Toothless lied his head back down and let himself doze off. It had been a tiring day for both of them and sharing one night together in the cove didn't sound like such a bad idea.

Next morning had come quickly and upon opening his eyes had the Night Fury discovered the small Viking boy now curled up against him with his arms wrapped around his middle, head placed on one of the dragon's forelegs in his sleep.

Toothless found himself not wanting to wake Scrawny as he slept so soundly. The knowledge that the boy's fellows would notice his absence was the only thing that changed his mind.

He had roused him from his slumber and Scrawny had been difficult to wake up, sitting up sluggishly with all the grace of a Terrible Terror and yawning. It was clear this boy had not slept outside all too often.

The Viking had complained about something hurting as he stretched his arms and his back and collected the 'saddle' before hurrying back to Berk, but not before leaving the dragon with an appreciative scratch or two on his chin.

Toothless had lain his head back down to continue his slumber after the small boy had left, confident that he would see the fledgling again later that day.

He had been right, of course. Scrawny had returned somewhere around midday with another heap of fish and the saddle to practise flying nd playfight some more. But come night, when the boy had already gone back to his own nest and the Night Fury settled down on a small scorched spot, he had suddenly felt strangely alone.

The cove had grown too quiet and almost lifeless. He missed feeling a certain warmth next to him and it had been only one night. The feeling grew worse over time as the day continued to pass.

It was then that Toothless realized just how attached he'd gotten ever since meeting this strange Viking boy and he did not seem to mind.

The days passed, the feeling of loneliness grew. The human did not stay the night and there were no other dragons to interact with. Toothless, though he had gotten used to a life of solitude even in a nest filled with dragons, suddenly longed to have that sense of companionship with him again.

He missed Scrawny. He missed his Viking.

And so there came a day when Toothless decided that it wouldn't be so bad to give into the feeling and request that the boy stay with him for another night.

Scrawny had once again removed the saddle, he had collected all of his strange items, and turned to face the Night Fury one more time. A bright smile on his face was evidence of the time they had just enjoyed together.

"Well, Bud, I have to go again, but I'll see you again tomorrow, okay?" Scrawny had repeated those words so many times by now, Toothless was pretty sure he knew what they meant. He had come to learn that there were two different kinds of 'buts' in that scentence and that one of them was used to address him, similar to the name 'Toothless'.

Any other normal night the dragon would've warbled a goodbye before choosing himself a good spot to lie down in, but this time it would be different. Tonight he wanted that boy to stay.

So instead of leaving Scrawny's side like he usually would, Toothless blocked his way and gazed up to him with big, kind eyes.

"Uh, Toothless?" Came his nasal voice and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He did not understand why the Night Fury was blocking his way.

Gently pushing the youth away from the opening out of the cove with his head, Toothless got Scrawny to turn around again. He stood there and waited, clearly expecting the dragon to explain what he was meaning to tell him.

Toothless did just that by leaving the boy's side, choosing a good spot to scorch with his fiery breath and settling down on the ground. He then looked up to him expectantly and hoped the Viking could follow.

"Oh!" He made the noise out of surprise, eyebrows up and his lively bright green eyes widened in a childlike manner.

"You want me to stay for tonight?" He asked, suddenly unable to stop rom rocking back and forth on his feet ever so slightly. With his confusion now gone only his smile remained.

Toothless understood this short sentence aswell and crooned in confirmation, lifting a wing to invite the young boy over.

Placing the saddle down on the grassy ground and removing the leather 'harness' to leave it there aswell, Scrawny came bounding over as fast as his legs could carry him. He plopped down at Toothless' side and gave the dragon a scratch on his jaw.

"Thanks for letting me stay, Bud." He told the Night Fury gratefully, scooting a little closer to his head. The scorched earth wasn't hot enough anymore to burn him. His hand came to settle on his nose.

"To be honest with you, my house has been kinda empty without dad, so I could use some company." Toothless wasn't entirely sure what Scrawny was talking about, but he knew 'house' was another word for nest and he had mentioned 'dad' a few times too. Despites not knowing, the dragon knew Scrawny was expressing his gratitude and he was more than willing to accept it.

Scrawny moved to lie down on his side, once again pressing himself against the warm reptile's side with his back and with an arm resting beneath his head. Toothless watched as he gave one final stretch and a yawn before closing his heavy eyes to let sleep take him as the moon slowly rose in the sky.

Once he was sure the human young was comfortable, the Night Fury curled his tail around them both and used his wing to shield him from the cold, humans seem to shiver so easily even when they lived this far up North.

"Thanks, Bud." Scrawny muttered one last time before the dragon rested his head on his two forelegs and closed his own lime green eyes. Confident that they were safe with eachother, he allowed himself to drift of, knowing that the Viking was already long gone.

It was the very next night that Toothless came to discover that Scrawny's name was actually 'Hiccup' when one of the Vikings living in Berk spoke that word and 'Hiccup' responded. So his nameless boy had a name after all.

Only later on would he come to learn just how strange both of their names really were.