As I mentioned, having break has been awesome for writing! (I have 4 more stories besides this one I want to post soon thanks to this inspiration- accelerating week and a half! Unfortunately I go back to school Tuesday...)

Anyway, this is my next HTTYD story! This one takes place right after Stoick's ship is burned, starring our favorite human-dragon pair and a whole lotta angst and comfort. I absolutely love the idea of them both thinking they're at fault, then turning to each other to end that thinking... with some Valka/Hiccup bonding because you can't go wrong with that ;)

FOR A LITTLE CLARIFICATION, "ITALIC QUOTES" ARE TOOTHLESS SPEAKING. HICCUP DOESN'T HEAR THE WORDS. IT'S MORE OF JUST A WAY OF SHOWCASING THOUGHTS.

Enjoy!

It was his fault.

Hiccup threw another dozen papers to the ground, the parchment falling to the wooden floor with a flutter.

His fault he's gone.

Books hurled off shelves, clattering to the ground.

All-

Pencils.

His-

Blueprints.

FAULT!

Hiccup finally stopped ransacking his home, falling to his knees. Don't cry. Don't. Cry. He was the chief now. He couldn't be weak. It was just another unfortunate casualty, that's all. Nothing to get upset over. It was only his father.

And it was his fault.

Hiccup ran his hand through his hair, a heavy sob escaping against all his efforts for it not to.

How could he have been so foolish? Not to listen to his father's warnings? His blind faith in humanity had cost a man his life, but not just a man, Stoick, the chief, his father. And the worst part was, the fatal blast wasn't even meant for him; he'd taken it for his son. All because his son was stupid enough to believe in a person who'd proven he wouldn't change.

Hiccup didn't know what to do with that knowledge.

Thanks to him, a ship was burned today. And now he had figure out how to fix everything. On his own.

So he just laid there, amidst everything he'd thrown to the floor, as the pain and tears took over the young chieftain's form.

"Hiccup?"

Hiccup looked up to see his mother standing at the other end of the room, eyes full with worry.

He quickly composed himself, suddenly becoming aware of the mess he'd made. "Oh, gods, I'm- I'm sorry. I- I'll clean this up-"

"No, no, it's alright, son," she said quickly, stepping over the items strewn about to get to him. "Leave it, it's fine." She knelt down gently beside her son, hesitant on what she should do to comfort him. They were nearly strangers, after all. Finally, she settled on placing a hand on his hunched shoulder.

"Oh mom…" Hiccup said, so quietly Valka barely heard. "What have I done?"

"Nothing, you di-"

"No, it's not nothing!"

Valka jumped at his sudden outburst, but stayed quiet, listening for more.

"It's not nothing," he continued in a calmer tone. "If I hadn't been so… so foolish as to believe Drago could be reasoned with. Dad- Dad was right. Some minds won't be changed. Men who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with. And now, thanks to my ignorance, he's… he's gone."

"Hiccup-" Valka started, only to be cut off again.

"I'm not fit to be chief." Silent tears finally spilled over, but he made no effort to stop them. "A chief protects his own. And all I've done is put them in harm's way."

"Hiccup." Valka's tone was stern, and he finally looked back at her. "Son… it's honestly, truly not your fault. You see so much good in people, even when others don't." Valka put her hand to her son's cheek. "Not many men would be willing to give a chance to people like Drago. Your merciful nature is one of your greatest strengths. But it can also be a great weakness. Some parts of humanity are just so… hardened that they can't see anything but the bad. And it's people like you who can bring back the light." She smiled softly. "Like you did for everyone on Berk."

Hiccup's expression finally softened at his mother's words. She was right. He leaned his head against her shoulder. "I know, but… I still can't help but feel somehow responsible."

"Your father would do anything for you, as he would me. I know he had no regrets, no second thoughts on whether it be your life or his."

Hiccup shifted his gaze to the chair on the other side of the room, turned on its side during his grief stricken rage earlier. The old worn leather and furs that marked his father's style. Now to remain empty… but not forgotten. He put his arm around Valka. "Thanks, Mom."

"Of course, son."

The two remained quiet for a moment, before Hiccup took a deep breath and pushed himself to a standing position. "I think there's someone I need to talk to." He looked to the corner of the hut, where Toothless' favorite sleeping spot was unoccupied, and had been since they returned from the funeral.

Valka nodded. "Go on, then. He's probably just as conflicted as you. He'll… he'll need you."

Hiccup smiled gratefully at his mother one last time before opening the door and heading outside.

(-:0:-)

It was his fault.

Toothless roared and whacked his tail against the ground again in anger, the metal in his prosthetic fin breaking from the impact.

He stopped for a moment, startled by his own force, only to narrow his gaze again and slam the piece to the earth once more. Who cares if it broke? He'd hurt Hiccup; he deserved to have this reminder of his human friend broken.

He deserved to be grounded after what he did.

Once the device was too mangled to be broken further, Toothless finally stopped, panting. He blinked, slowly calming his breathing, before turning away from his tail and walking toward the edge of the cliff overlooking the Cove. The place he'd first met Hiccup. He jumped over the edge and into the bowl-like area.

Maybe he'd just spend the rest of his life here. He couldn't go back to Berk now. Besides… Hiccup wouldn't want him there even if he went back.

Toothless closed his eyes.

...

There was no clarity to the dragon's vision. Only darkened, fuzzy shapes and red tinged edges. The only thing he could clearly understand was the voice in his mind, not his own, but of the Alpha.

Do it. Just ahead now. That's your target.

He didn't know what what ahead of him. Or rather, who. Somehow, he knew something was wrong. The dragon knew he needed to stop, to turn away, to snuff the plasma blast he felt charging in his throat. But all the while, that voice overpowered his instincts, made him lose sense of who he was.

That's it, Night Fury. Shoot. Shoot straight ahead.

Once the gases built up, the dragon ignited it. Just as another shape jumped into his field of sight.

Then it was over.

Toothless came to, only to see a strange sight in front of him. Hiccup, hunched over a large shape, was crying. Why was he crying? What had happened?

Toothless approached, the figure on the ground soon identified as the Chief. What was he doing on the ground? Why wasn't he moving? Toothless nudged his hand with his nose, only to feel two smaller hands pushing him away.

"No! Get away from him! Go on! Get out of here! Get away!"

Hiccup's voice. Why is he yelling at me? That's when Toothless finally realized it. The scent on Stoick… it was his. And not just the scent of him, but of his plasma blast.

No.

No, it can't be.

Toothless backed away, scared by Hiccup's yelling and his own abject horror.

I… I killed him. I killed Hiccup's father.

Then the dragon sank back into the Alpha's dark consciousness.

...

"Toothless!"

Toothless snapped out of his memory, opening his eyes to see mismatched feet in front of him. His human.

"Toothless, you alright, bud?"

Toothless jumped up and started running from him. "Leave me! I killed your own flesh and blood! I don't deserve your sympathy."

He heard his friend's gait start behind him, but he didn't look. He just ran.

"Toothless! Stop!" Suddenly, the Night Fury felt extra weight on him, and skidded to a stop. Hiccup had latched himself to his tail, a fierce look of determination in his eyes. "Stop," he said again, quieter this time. "We need to talk."

Defeated, the dragon slumped to the ground. "I don't know what there is to say. It's all my fault."

Hiccup let go of Toothless' tail, before crawling up closer to his reptile friend's head, leaning against his chest. Toothless tensed.

"Why are you sitting with me? I hurt you."

Although he couldn't hear his words, Hiccup understood what Toothless was feeling. And he needed to fix it.

"It's not your fault, Toothless. What happened to my father today… that wasn't you. And it wasn't me. It wasn't even the Alpha. It was Drago. He is the one who k-" he choked on the word a little, "-killed him."

"But I should've known better. I should've fought it. I should've heard you. You mean everything to me, yet I let another take control. I'm- I'm a monster."

"It wasn't you. I know you, Toothless. You'd do anything to protect me… and my family. You'd even challenge an Alpha if it meant keeping me safe." Hiccup smiled his half-smile that Toothless loved.

He did. Against a dragon hundreds of times his size, a dragon with mind controlling powers. Because his friend needed him.

"Toothless… you are my best friend. And I can't imagine what I'd do or- or who I'd be if I didn't have you. So please… you need to forgive yourself. If you can't forgive yourself, you'll never be able to move on. And then I'll never be able to move on…"

Hiccup's arm was around Toothless' neck now, his words dripping with emotion.

Toothless closed his eyes once more, but this time, he didn't see the flashbacks. He only saw the backs of his eyes.

It's not your fault.

Toothless crooned softly, letting his head fall to rest on Hiccup's lap.

"Thank you," he barely heard Hiccup whisper.

The two stayed quiet and still for a moment, soaking in the relief that comes with closure, nestled in the Cove that brought them together. Finally, Hiccup stood up, setting his hand on Toothless' head.

"Come on, bud. Let's go home."

Toothless remembered what he did to his tail, and gestured with his head to the damaged piece.

"It's alright, Toothless. We'll get you fixed up." Hiccup laughed slightly. "You, heh, you should see what I did to my house."

Then the pair made their way out of the Cove, side by side, ready to face whatever would come their way.

Hope you all enjoyed! This was originally two separate chapters, but I was able to get them to be one cohesive story. I'm quite pleased with the product to be honest. It was tougher than I thought to write a "conversation" between characters when one can't speak... But I think it turned out pretty well! Feel free to leave your thoughts :)

Next time: more Part of My Mind and a new Gravity Falls one shot! Here's your hint: sldqrv!