A/N: Having some serious problems titling this chapter. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Your POV

Your thoughts were still on the attractive but arrogant Dragon Trapper as you entered the nest. Every time you entered and exited the mountain, you took a different route. This time you flew through an old vent hole close to the mountain peak. Hiccup whooped happily, causing a grin to crinkle your lips, as you both dived into the open green space. Then you split: Toothless banked to the right, he and Hiccup off to the little alcove that was your living quarters while you and Zyphur sped to the left, off to complete your typical tasks.

Evening chores blew by in a blur of scales until, once again, you were sitting by the fire recounting more stories of your misadventures. Valka wanted to know everything that you had been through together, every bump and bruise and tiny scrape. You felt like it was overkill, but she had been away from her family for almost twenty years, so you conceded to the storytelling process while also trying to get supper assembled.

The three of you were huddled by the fire, tonight's menu yak chops and fried potatoes. It was insanely difficult to keep any kind of land-based meat in the nest, especially with the Nadders trying to steal the chicken, so this meal was a special treat. Valka helped with the prep work while Hiccup was distracted, fiddling with your broken flight rig. Gods bless him, he was trying to fix it so you could go flying together again. Problem was that the wood you used to make the glider arm was only found on Wingmaiden Island, which might as well have been on the other side of the world.

"Which tale do you want to share this time?" You asked Hiccup nonchalantly, slicing potatoes into a large skillet. You didn't have many pots and pans and not much time to clean them, so the grease from the previous meal was still caked onto the cast iron, slowly melting to coat the metal. (A/N: If you ever wash a cast iron pot or pan, shame on you! The grease is the best part of the meal.) This didn't bother you since it made the meal taste that much better, the extra grease adding to the depth of flavors.

"Huh?" Hiccup said befuddled, his fingers still working. You shot him a knowing glance.

"What tale would you like to share now? We haven't talked about fighting the Flyers or how your dad reacted when we lost the Edge to Krogan and Viggo or anything about Johann."

Mention of the trader/traitor made Valka stiffen. You had told her a little of what happened the last few times you went to the Northern Markets, especially after you saw how she flinched when you learned that somebody was going fishing, which brought up thoughts of the Sandbuster and your complicated relationship with a certain black-haired muttonhead. "And then there was that one time..."

"Oh, right. The time with the Submaripper?" He answered, making you shake your head wildly. It was one of the few stories that you hadn't shared because you were scared that she would scold you for your recklessness.

Nonethless, Valka's ears perked up at the mention of the elusive Tidal class. "You've seen a Submaripper?" Valka asked, staring at you both with an unbelieving green gaze.

You looked away quickly, silently continuing your task, shooting furious glares at Hiccup, who missed every one of your clues to drop the matter.

"Yeah, seen it, fought it, almost drowned trying to rescue it." He answered honestly.

"Well hello, Snotlout. I didn't know you were here." You sassed under your breath, rosy cheeks a glow in the firelight in anticipation of the awkward conversations on the horizon.

He gave up on the rig, placed the broken pieces off to the side and picked up another potato from the pile. Casually, he tossed it into the hot skillet, slicing another one easily while diving into the tale of how your antics managed to anger Viggo so much that he threatened the people of Berk with starvation. It was not a pleasant memory by any means.

Shut up, Hiccup.

You aimed a kick at his good leg as a last attempt to get him to stop. No luck. He pulled his leg out of the way at the last second. Your foot skidded forward into the edge of the fire. You yelped, quickly jerking back and patting out the flames.

You peeled the thin brown fabric back, revealing a large blistered patch of scar tissue that encircled your left shin. Fingers moving unbidden, your nails traced the old wound from top to bottom as you lost yourself in the memory.

The words fell out of your mouth as you pushed another forkful of food in.

"Maybe Hookfang would want to finish the job..." The alcove went still for a moment while all eyes, human and dragon, fell on you.

Hiccup's POV

"What's that supposed to mean?" My eyes studied her face. The dead set of her green gaze focused on the warm embers of the fire had me worried. Maybe I shouldn't have brought this adventure to light, but it was too late now.

She awkwardly took a bite before answering, her voice muffled by the food still in her mouth.

"Nuffink. It was meant," she swallowed, "to be a joke." Y/n replied. She absent-mindedly rubbed the patch of bumpy scars on her left shin. I pulled my gaze away to look at my own and a thought shoved its way in.

I could see the wheels in her head churning. I felt the subtle shift that foretold her lie, but, like the muttonhead I can sometimes be, I asked anyway.

"You wanted us to be exactly the same, didn't you?"

She scoffed, nearly choking on her next bite. Then came the expected lie, given in a familiar teasing tone. "Well, it would make it easier to disguise us as each other." She was almost laughing.

"Y/n, you can't be serious. That's not-" I complained. Who in their right mind would want to be without a limb?

Y/n cut me off. "Hiccup, for a guy as smart as you, sometimes you can be absolutely dense." True but still...

She paused for a moment to take a calming breath. I think she could tell that I wasn't exactly acting like myself, and neither was she for that matter.

When we had both calmed down, she tried again. "No, I wasn't trying to look like you. I was trying to make Snotlout feel better. Even if he didn't deserve it." Y/n explained, refusing to look away from the glowing embers. She was lying. We all knew it. The tension between us was palpable, but it didn't stop her from continuing to tease me.

I let it go...

... for now.