"I can't believe your mother just left me with you last night," Harry complained as soon as Hiccup sat down at the dining table. Hiccup's hair was sticking up in all directions, but the bags underneath his eyes were gone and he was smiling at Harry's banter. Sleeping until noon seemed to do a world of wonder for Hiccup and Harry was glad for it, not even minding that he had been left all alone for the morning.

"You weren't in any danger," responded Hiccup, "and where did you even find that apron?"

Harry paused, looking down at his chest. He had Conjured up an apron and had thought it would be hilarious to customize it with the words: "The Big Bad Viking's Hostage."

"I made it," he said, not even hiding the pride in his words and was rewarded when Hiccup sighed at him.

"Someone's going to get the wrong idea."

"What wrong idea?" he asked innocently. "I am your hostage."

"You're saying this as if I can somehow stop you if you wanted to leave," said Hiccup, deadpan. Harry grinned, turning and placing breakfast/lunch onto Hiccup's plate. Valka had stopped by earlier to let him know Hiccup's favorite dish and had giggled nonstop once she realized Hiccup had still been sleeping. Harry hadn't even blushed at her words to her disappointment; if he had tired out Hiccup until noon the way she was thinking, he would be proud, not embarrassed. And besides, it was hard to not be cheered at her attitude since this bode well if Harry threw all caution to the wind and fell deeper for Hiccup. At least Hiccup's mom would give them their blessings.

As long as Harry could get past the huge wall that was Hiccup's obliviousness, of course.

Regardless, Harry was enjoying himself and he pulled up a chair, sitting down next to Hiccup. He had already eaten, so he was more than content to watch Hiccup eat. "You can easily stop me. All you have to do is bat those eyelashes of yours and I'll stay here forever."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "Ha ha, real funny, Harry."

"I'm telling the truth," he protested and Hiccup waved his fork at Harry, threateningly.

"Don't make me actually ask you to stay," he said. "I'll even bat those eyelashes you're talking about." He paused in his eating, turning and doing as he threatened and Harry grinned, his heart full as he watched Hiccup make a fool of himself. Surprisingly, it wasn't even a hilarious sight, instead Harry's heart gave a traitorous beat; Hiccup was far too handsome to ever look like a fool.

"Alright," he said, trying his best to act unaffected. "You got me, I'm staying forever."

Hiccup grinned, and Harry tried to ignore the fact that he was already in far too deep.

After breakfast, Hiccup took Harry to introduce him to the rest of the village. Most of the earlier commotion from finding the ice gone had already died down, although a huge crowd of people still accosted Hiccup whenever they found him.

Harry found himself liking the Vikings even more; after Hiccup reassured them, most of them seemed to accept Hiccup's word to be true and had instead focused on other things. They trusted Hiccup implicitly, and it only spoke of Hiccup's character that they never questioned him.

Instead, their time was better spent on figuring out how to prepare for the winter and already, talks of how to move up construction to fix their homes took up the place of conversations of why the ice had suddenly disappeared.

Harry was enjoying himself here, to his surprise. He hadn't thought what Morgana had suggested could ever come true, but here he was, not even thinking about how he could follow Merlin's orders. Instead his thoughts were full of Hiccup and his new situation here, and he couldn't help but to enjoy himself. Time here was so different from time back then, and Hiccup didn't need him to do anything so he could enjoy himself as he wanted.

Of course, he never left Hiccup's side even though Hiccup was more than happy to let him roam about. He was enjoying himself far too much after all: watching Hiccup navigate and lead his people was fascinating. Hiccup looked so soft sometimes and despite Harry calling him a big, bad Viking, Hiccup didn't even look half the part of the Vikings he had imagined before. But he was a leader, no doubt about it, and Harry couldn't tear his eyes away as Hiccup continued to give orders.

The day passed relatively quickly as Harry just watched and dinner time was spent getting to know Hiccup's friends. They were nice enough and Harry was delighted to meet the twins Hiccup had been talking about earlier. They reminded him so much of Fred and George and he knew that they got up to all types of mischief that would probably give Hiccup a headache if he ever found out about it. Astrid was there, but she was quiet as the rest of the Vikings talked, and it was as if most of them were dancing around the subject of Astrid and Hiccup. Still, it had been an enjoyable dinner, and by the time they make it back to Hiccup's house, Harry was already feeling the effects of the alcohol.

He was drowsy, and it was only Hiccup's arm around his shoulders that keep him from tumbling. It wasn't as if alcohol actually affected him; it had just been a long day and Harry looked forward to getting some sleep.

Hiccup pushed the door open, careful with Harry as they traversed the door.

"I am ready to sleep," said Harry, yawning, and Hiccup's eyes crinkled as he smiled at how Harry was stumbling into the room. The bed he made looked far too inviting and in between one second and the next, Harry transfigured his clothes into loose pajamas and had flopped onto the soft surface.

"Do you need help getting ready for bed?" he asked, his words muffled because he was still face first, and when Hiccup didn't respond, he shifted, looking blearily up at Hiccup.

Hiccup was looking down at him, still smiling, and his eyes soft. "So you're staying then? Forever?"

"Forever's a long time," he said, but when Hiccup's grin grew, Harry couldn't help his answering grin. "Fine, yes," he said. "And before you say anything, since I'm here forever, you're getting to let me sleep now instead of asking me more about magic."

"I wasn't going to keep you up," protested Hiccup, and Harry waved a hand at him, turning away and letting out a few mock snores. Hiccup was laughing as he left, and the sound of laughter was the last thing he heard as he drifted off to sleep.

Time passed quickly in Berk. Each day was a wonder and full of so much laughter that Harry's stomach would hurt at the end of the day. It had been so long since he had a friend and even longer since he had someone he was actually interested in. To Harry's surprise, he was actually happy to wake up and he channeled that happiness into making a wide array of food for breakfast. Although sometimes, of course Hiccup wouldn't be awake until it had gotten cold, but a simple warming charm fixed that right up.

After breakfast or lunch, Hiccup and he would go survey what was happening in Berk. Lunch was usually spent with either Valka or Toothless, or a combination of the two, and sometimes, Toothless would fly them to a place with a beautiful view. At first, Harry would decline, but eventually, he confessed to Hiccup why he didn't want to be so high up. It was hard talking about the only time that had mattered to him and how he promised that he wouldn't go flying anymore if absolutely necessary but Hiccup had frowned and told him that this was different. It had been years ago and riding a dragon was completely different than riding a broom.

And Hiccup was right; Harry didn't want to be held back anymore. He loved his friends, loved Ginny with all his heart and that 'life' had been the only thing keeping him going. Flying on top of Toothless was nothing like a broom and he knew his friends wouldn't mind that he was finally enjoying himself again. It was a stupid hangup anyway, something born from his guilt of living far past his normal lifespan and enjoying something that they all loved had made him feel so guilty that it always threatened to overwhelm him. They would never think less of him for this, but since they had been the only people he cared about for so long, it was hard not to think that way.

But holding onto Hiccup's waist as they soared into the sky was something completely different and it was easy to think of his time here as something far different from the life he lived as the original boy-who-lived.

After lunch, they would either stop by the blacksmith's or the town hall, depending on Hiccup's schedule. Being the Chief of the village meant Hiccup's schedule was tightly packed, yet no one ever begrudged Harry for simply following along. In rare occasions, Harry would go hang out with Toothless as Hiccup got things done, but for the most part, he enjoyed watching as Hiccup went about his day.

After spending each day following Merlin's every whim and order, having such a relaxing, peaceful life was nice. He wondered when he would be asked to do anything, but surprisingly, months passed with Harry generally being left alone. He knew that was mostly due to Hiccup's doing and it only made his heart warm as he thought of it. Of course, there was still the matter of the weird thing he had heard the night they had made the ice melt, but since he hadn't heard it again and had no clue on where to start, Harry put it out of his mind. He knew either Morgana or Merlin would come find him if he really needed to start taking orders again, after all.

Dinner was usually spent with Hiccup's friends, and since Hiccup's friends were Vikings, it was always an outrageously loud and ridiculously long affair, and yet so much fun that Harry reveled in it. It had been a while since he had dealt with such boisterous people, and every time after everything, Hiccup would always be a comforting presence next to him as they headed home together.

It was nice, but every time before Harry went to sleep, he wondered how much longer could it last. Something was bound to happen; that was just Harry's life. It had been why he had been so hesitant to get attached to people for so long. It was the only way to look out for himself and to stop it from hurting so much.

But it had been too easy for him to get attached to Hiccup. Hiccup was just like him back then, beaten down and yet so strong all the same. Hiccup never let himself be bogged down by things that didn't matter and always made sure to put the people he cared about first. Honestly, these past few months, the only person Harry ever thought about was Hiccup and every second he spent with Hiccup, he spent with a smile on his face.

He couldn't even remember the last time he felt like this since Ginny was so long ago. He didn't even know if he felt this enamored with Ginny because back then he had been so young. He hadn't understood love…not like he did now.

He groaned, turning over in his bed and holding the blanket in his arms tightly. His mind was a mess and his feelings even more so and he felt doubly stupid for falling in love with a boy that didn't even consider him a prospect.

He was so annoyed with himself that at first he didn't hear the footsteps. When he did, he froze, and was just about to light the candles when he heard Hiccup.

"Harry? Are you okay?"

"What are you doing up?" Harry asked instead of answering and sat up slightly. He lit the candles with magic, and the fire played shadows across Hiccup's worried face. His cheeks were still flushed with the alcohol they had drank earlier in the night and it looked ridiculously attractive on him, making Harry's heart skip a beat.

Harry had lived thousands of years so it shouldn't be this difficult to be honest with himself. And yet, he was struggling to admit that he liked Hiccup. Harry liked Hiccup more than he had possibly liked anyone ever and it was scaring him.

"I was worried," said Hiccup, a tad petulantly once he realized Harry wasn't in any danger. "You sometimes have nightmares."

"I do?"

"Yeah," said Hiccup, sitting down next to him. Because of his inebriated state, he sat far too close, his shoulder touching Harry's and making Harry's face flame. Hiccup squinted, frowning and lifting a hand to press against Harry's cheek. "You sure you're okay? We can talk, if you want."

"Don't you have to be up early?" he asked, and Hiccup groaned himself, even louder than when Harry had.

"I do," conceded Hiccup, "but I can stay up a few more minutes if it makes you feel better."

"I'm fine," said Harry, unable to keep the laughter out of his voice. "I'm not a little kid, you know."

Hiccup grinned at Harry's jovial tone and Harry's heart fluttered. He wasn't a teenager, and yet…

"I know, I know," placated Hiccup. "I'll let you get some sleep then."

"I'll wake you up with your favorite for breakfast," promised Harry. "As a thanks."

"You don't have to thank me for making sure you're not having nightmares," said Hiccup, but he ruffled Harry's hair as thanks anyway as he tried to stand. But he was tired and drunk so all he accomplished was falling back onto his bum and drawing raucous laughter from him. "Okay, as thanks, you're going to let me share this ridiculously soft thing you've made."

"Uh what?" asked Harry, his eyes wide as Hiccup ignored him, settling down and cuddling up against Harry's side. He yawned loudly, before turning and mumbling.

"I promise I don't snore," Hiccup was trying to sound earnest, but a yawn interrupted him and he seemed to give up, turning and already falling fast asleep.

"You so do snore," protested Harry, and he knew it to be true since Hiccup had slept only a hallway down from him for months. But he didn't want to wake Hiccup up, so he laid back down next to Hiccup, waving a hand and making the candles go out with magic.

Harry didn't get a wink of sleep that night, far too awake thanks to Hiccup nestled up to his side.

A/N:hopefully this clears up the flying thing up - i'm horrible and couldn't find a way to properly explain that the reason Harry didn't want to fly was because he didn't want to remember his past. haha.

uh, well, so I have no excuse for being so slow, so thanks for giving me inspiration again by leaving feedback! I truly adore you all and hope you enjoy this chapter!