What Do You Think?

For Immonkey119

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You are both 18 (Not Race To The Edge)

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"Hey, (Y/ N)," greeted Hiccup.

You pointed to yourself, surprised he was talking to you. He nodded, and you waved a shy hello.

You often hung out with the gang. You did almost anything to stay away from home for as long as possible. Still, you never spoke, kept your opinions and secrets to yourself, and weren't sure if the others even considered you a friend. You barely considered them friends, and only because they were the closet thing besides (D/N) you had to friends.

"Hey, I was wondering if you could help me out with something. My dad wants me to set up for another dragon race. Can you help me?"

You eagerly nodded.

"Great! Is this afternoon good?"

You thought it over for a moment before nodding slowly, as if unsure of yourself.

"You sure?"

You nodded, more confidently.

"Great. Thanks, (N/N)."

He walked off to the rest of the group, not noticing the confused look on your face. (N/N)? No one ever bothered to give you a nickname before. You smiled, deciding you rather liked it. And even better, your crush is the one who gave you the nickname!

You watched the clouds roll by, listening carelessly to the conversation of the group. Occasionally they broke off into two conversations, but always joined back into one. Rarely did they brake of into three conversations.

"What do you think, (N/N)?" asked Hiccup.

You blinked, lowering your gaze from the sky. You had zoned out for one minute, but you had no idea what they had been talking about.

You gave a weak smile and gave them a thumbs up.

Hiccup chuckled before informing, "How should we decorate this dragon race? What color banners and stuff? Should the sheep be painted as well?"

You gave them a confused smile and a thumbs up. You could care less, but didn't feel why it was important.

"You can speak, you know. I really want your opinion on this."

You just smiled politely. You weren't one for talking. At home it was forbidden, so you just got use to keeping your voice on mute.

"I thought she couldn't speak," Tuffnut admitted. "And I thought her name was (Y/ N)."

Hiccup sighed while you smiled. You honestly thought the twins and Snotlout didn't know your name. They never mentioned you, and the handful of times they did it was with the pronouns 'she' or 'her' and once 'that girl'. Yeah, some friends.

"(N/N), a nickname for (Y/ N)."

"No fair! I want a nickname!" he declared.

"You do have one, mutton head. You know how we call you Tuff but your name is Tuffnut. Yeah, Tuff is your nickname."

"Cool! I have a nickname!"

You let out a silent laugh.

"So, wait, you really can't speak?" asked Hiccup. "Didn't you speak when we were younger?"

You nodded while shrugging your shoulders.

"Hey, why don't you talk?" asked Ruff.

You shifted, uncomfortable with the change in topic.

"Yeah, why don't you speak?" Astrid seemed to challenge.

You shrugged and turned to walk away.

"Whoa. Whoa. Wait." A hand stop you from leaving and turned you around. "It's none of our business. If she wants to tell us, she will, but we don't need to suddenly bombard her with questions. We've been hanging out with her since we were fifteen. If we were good friends, we should've asked sooner. Sorry, (N/N)."

You waved it off. They were the best of friends you could ask for. You would have given up long ago if it weren't for them.

"So, why don't you talk? You just don't like to or?" Tuff trailed.

You gave him a shrug and a smile, making it seem like a yes.

"Uh. I love talking. Hey, I'm gonna try not talking!" (AN: you'd be surprised how many people try that when they meet me. Nobody lasts more than three minutes, though.)

You smiled, politely. Knowing he wouldn't last long.

"Yeah, sure. Good luck with that," Ruff encouraged.

You dropped out of the conversation and went back to looking at the sky. You wanted to go flying. To feel free. Even if the feeling never lasted, it still felt great.

You don't know how long you were daydreaming, but soon you felt a punch on your shoulder. You couldn't help but let out a cry, for there was a huge cut and a bruise over the exact spot that was playfully hit.

You shivered from the immense pain and closed your eyes tightly, biting your lip to help keep quiet and wait for the pain to subside. You had also instinctively curled into a ball on the ground. Years of random beatings did that to you. Your emotions switched off, but no matter how many injuries you received, they always hurt like the time you were thrown into the fire pit, while there was a fire going. You had ugly scars all over from that experience, and many more from the daily beatings.

"Whoa, what happened?" Snotlout questioned.

"Everyone be quiet," ordered Hiccup. "(N/N). (N/N), are you alright? Come on, talk to me. Or write or do something." You felt a hand gently place itself upon your shoulder, and you flinched. The hand didn't retreat, just slowly make its way up and down your side, gently. Your breathing increased at the pain. You let him try to calm you until you couldn't stand the pain anymore.

You let out a whine and pushed his hand away. You sat up and leaned against the closest thing you could. You rested your hand upon your side and breathed deeply, eyes pinched together. Once the pain dulled, you opened your eyes, seeing everyone staring at you. Even the dragons.

"Hey," a voice came from the thing you were leaning on. You turned your head to see it was Hiccup. You blushed and ducked your head. This day couldn't get any worse. "Who hurt you, (N/N)?"

You were wrong. It just got worse.

You froze then rapidly shook your head in denial.

"So no one hurt you?" Hiccup doubted, raising an eyebrow.

You stared at the ground, unwillingly agreeing.

"So you did this to yourself?"

You didn't know how to answer, so you looked around as if hoping you'd think of one before deciding to just not answer.

He gently wrapped his arms around you and sighed. "(N/N), whether you see us as such or not, we're your friends, we're not stupid."

"Well," Astrid hinted. "Most of us aren't. More like half."

"Not now!"

"Just saying!"

"We still all know that you didn't do this to yourself, (N/N), which leads to me ask: Who hurt you?"

You were blushing like mad, but didn't dare to squirm. Your eyes glanced up at him before darting back down.

"For the love of Thor, (N/N), tell me!" he raised his voice. This frightened you, making you start to curl up again. He prevented you from finishing. "No. No one will ever hurt you again, just tell me who is hurting you."

"M- My- My p- p- par-" you silenced yourself before you could finish.

"Your parents?" Astrid asked, kneeling beside you. You hide your face in Hiccup's chest, not wanting him to ever let go, and nodded once.

"Thank you." His arms tightened around you but brought no pain, just security. Your shoulders shook as you let out a silent sob. "Go on, let it out. I'm right here."

You cried for a good few minutes before your tears slowly came to an end. You leaned back in his arms and looked up to the sky.

"Want to go for a flight?" he asked.

You did, but you also wanted to stay in his arms, so you didn't answer.

He helped you up while standing himself. There goes staying in his arms forever. "Go with the gang. I have something to take care of. I'll see you when you get back." He kissed your forehead with the up most of care and guided your hand to Astrid's.

You reached out for him with your free hand, but he stepped back. Dejected, you lowered your hand and slouched a bit.

Suddenly, your free hand was taken. "Hey, don't be like that. I'll be back. I just have something to do."

You put a finger to your lips.

"Don't tell?" he guessed after a moment. "I can't do that."

You persisted.

"No. I won't let you get hurt anymore, (N/N). Go fly around with Astrid and the rest. Everything will be okay by the time you get back. Go on, now."

Astrid pulled you away.

"You know," Astrid started, flying up beside you. "He's liked you for a while now."

You buried your eyebrows together.

"Hiccup."

You rolled your eyes.

"It's true," Fishlegs insisted.

What about him and Astrid? you thought. You just pointed at Astrid.

"We're just friends, (N/N). We tried, but we both agreed that it didn't feel right. So we broke it off."

You slowly nodded.

Soon, you turned around, ready to return to Berk. Child abuse was a serious crime. Hiccup would need proof or a confession if he was to get your parents arrested for it. You weren't going to show any proof willingly, and you knew your parents wouldn't confess. Things would remain as they were.

To be honest, you were kinda scared of change. If your parents were gone, where would you go? What would you eat? How would you survive? You were considered old enough on Berk to live on your own, but you could barely read! Your parents didn't teach you to survive on your own. They kept you dependent on them.

Upon landing next to your house, the only place you've ever known as home, you spotted Hiccup and Stoick standing outside, both frowning as your parents struggled against the firm grips of the viking warriors.

Your father spotted you and jerked in an unexpected direction, causing the guards' holds to slip. You turned to run but tripped, landing on your hands and knees.

"You little b---h!"

"(N/ N)!" Hiccup shouted.

You were yanked up and didn't have time to blink before you were back on the ground, your cheek burning as the taste of blood filled your mouth. You spit it out in time for another punch. You curled into a ball, letting your emotions flow into a locked box.

You heard shuffling feet, curse after curse, and no longer felt blows after the people started to hurry your parents away.

You were scooped up in someone's arms, but instinctively jumped away. You ran into your house, ignoring the calls of your name and nickname. You ran to your room and blindly dashed into your hiding place. It was just under your bed, but your parents were too lazy to thoroughly investigate where you always hid. You'd come out eventually, and they'd just beat you then.

"(N/ N)," a soothing voice called. The door of your room crept open. "(N/ N), are you in here?"

You tried to keep silent, but couldn't keep in the cough. You cough a few times, enough to let Hiccup know where you were hiding.

"They're gone now, (N/ N). They're being locked in prison as we speak. What do you think of that? You're free now. No one can hurt you."

He peaked his head under the bed. Into your line of view. You coward deeper against the wall the bed rested against.

"Come here. No one will hurt you. Just come here." You shook your head. "Want me to go to you?" You paused then nodded, hesitantly. He smiled. "Alright. I'm coming. But I'm warning, I won't let you go."

You watched him pull himself over to you. He smiled and wrapped his arms around you. You relaxed, welcoming the warmth and comfort he carried with him.

Y'all were silent for quite a few minutes, letting everything sink in.

"I- I'm-" you started, then stopped.

"You're what?" he encouraged.

You looked up at the bottom of the bed. "I-"

"Please, continue," he said, realizing you weren't. You stayed silent. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"Not allowed," you managed, your voice soft and hoarse from not speaking for years.

"They're gone, (N/N)," he whispered. "No one will hurt you ever again."

You looked up at him, hope clear in your eyes.

"I promise."

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath with relief. Reality was settling in. Not only was some fear leaving, but fear of the unknown was increasingly taking its toll.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked, mostly to himself.

You opened your eyes. You didn't know what to think. You were sad you would probably never see your parents again. They'd surely be executed or sent off the face of the earth. You'd be alone. But you were happy that- if Hiccup's promise was true- you wouldn't be hurt. You were excited about having freedom, but frightened at the sudden rush of it. You were giddy that the boy you had a huge crush on was holding you, promising he wouldn't leave, but was also worried he wouldn't ever feel the same way about you.

What were you to do? You didn't know how to feel, what to think, how to act, anything!

Hiccup seemed to understand. "Shh, it's alright. I'm sure your feeling all kinds of conflicting emotions, am I right?" You nodded twice, quickly. "Hmm, are you worried about the future?" You nodded. He smiled kindly. "Then I'll help take care of that right now.

"Your parents are being trailed for abuse of a child, obviously. They'll surely be found guilty. They'll never hurt you again. Then, for a while, you'll stay with my dad and me. At least until you get everything situated. Longer of you'd like; I won't mind." His eyes filled with an unfamiliar emotion as his gentle fingers brushed a strand of your hair behind your ears. "By then, you'll live your life how you want to, not how someone else want you to live. You'll chose which trade you'll go into, chose where you'll live (whether it be here or in a new house), who you'll marry, whatever. Your life is now yours."

You smiled a thank you at him.

"Do you, um, like me, (N/ N)?" he dared to ask. You nodded. "No, I mean more than like. Almost love. Or perhaps love. More than just a- oh I mean like this." You were surprised to have his ramble end with him pressing his lips to yours. It only lasted a moment, but it took you a few seconds to answer. Although, you couldn't remove the stupid grin off your face.

You nodded. "Me love Hic-p."

He smiled and leaned his nose against yours. "Never heard my name pronounced that way, but I love you, too." He kissed you again, this time longer.

You were breathless by the time the kiss ended. You couldn't think very well, either. Your smile definitely wasn't leaving any time soon.

"Ready to come out of hiding?" he joked. You thought it over before nodding slowly once.

He exited from underneath the bed before reaching out for you. You hesitantly crawled out and grabbed his hand, letting him help you up.

He winced, looking at your cheek in better lighting. "Come on, time to get those bruises looked at." You rolled your eyes and waved him off. You'd been through worse. You had honestly forgotten about the newly formed bruises until Hiccup mentioned them. "We're getting those bruises looked at," he stated, firmly but with a bright smile. He couldn't stop smiling, either. You nodded. "Look at it as me being an over protective boyfriend if you will."

"B- B- Boy?" you asked, thrilled.

He pecked your lips. "Yup. Boyfriend."

He led you outside, where he informed Stoick where he was taking you. Stoick simply said, "Congratulations, son. You've pick a fine warrior. Don't lose her."

Hiccup stood taller, proud. "I won't, dad." He glanced at you as he added, "I promise."

He had you fly with him on Toothless, then stood beside you as Gothi looked you over, scribbling that the bruises would fade and you were otherwise fine. She also told Hiccup to try and get you to start talking more, especially about what you had been through, and to keep an eye on you. She also told him 'Congratulations' about your new relationship.

That night, Hiccup settled you on his bed, treating with you the up most of care. It scared you, to be honest. You weren't use to such kindness. Not even in front of people were your parents this kind. They weren't very kind at all, but the village had ruled it off as they were strict parents.

"Want anything? Water? Yak milk? A late night snack?" You shook your head no, eager for him to leave you alone. You pulled the blanket up to your nose, staring intently at him. "You sure? You didn't eat much at dinner."

You shrugged. You were rarely allowed to eat. Not but once or twice a week. You had been given a decent dinner the day before, for there was a feast at the Great Hall, so you hadn't been hungry as of yet.

He sighed and sat down at the edge of the bed. "Something's wrong. I know it. Tell me what's wrong, (N/N)." Despite his soft and caring tone, you coward away. "I won't hurt you. Please, (N/N), tell me what's wrong. Is it too cold? Too hot? Are you thirsty? Hungry? Are you scared? Please tell me!"

You shook your head no four times, then slowly nodded yes once. Hiccup barely noticed the nod. The nod was so small, hesitant, almost uncertain. Not that the answer was uncertain, but the telling of it was. Like you didn't know if you should answer or not. Or you didn't want to tell him the answer.

It took him a second to realize you were answering his questions. "Scared? You're scared?" You confirmed with another silent nod, but he continued before you finished. "Of what? The house? The room? Uh, being alone? Is the new setting frightening you?" You shook your head no twice, then nodded slowly twice. You nodded like it his guesses were only a small portion of the problem, so he added, "But that's not what's truly bothering you." You agreed. "Please, tell me, (N/N). I can't help if you don't talk to me."

It went on like that for weeks. You would be fine one moment, then stiff and easily frightened the next. Hiccup thought of it as 'adapting to normal life,' but it didn't fix the problem. You were confused as to why everyone was acting different around you. Even the gang. You didn't like it; you hated it.

Hiccup constantly tried to get you to talk about it, but whenever he brought up you talking, you shut down. He usually dropped the subject soon afterwards.

One day, however, about a month after you everything started, Hiccup sat you down at the table.

"We need to talk. Both of us, (N/N). I love you. I only want what's best for you. Remember that. Now, you need to tell me what I'm doing wrong. Write it down, show me, whatever. You don't have to talk. I don't care. Just tell me what's wrong. Please."

You stared at the table, forcing yourself not to tell him. Surely, you'd get beaten like last time you spoke out of place, which had been a few years past.

"Please, (N/N). I won't know what to change if you don't at least give me a clue. Do you want more flight time? Alone time? Together- just the two of us- time? Time around the village? Do you want something? Like a journal to write what you're thinking and feeling in? I can't help you if you don't help me."

You looked up and opened your mouth to say something, but when Hiccup perked up, you took it the wrong way and curled into a ball, except with your knees still bent over the chair and your feet on the floor.

He walked over to you, gently resting his hands on your arm and back. "No. No. I won't hurt you. No one will hurt you, (N/N). We only want to help."

You spoke. "S- St- stop."

"What?"

"S- Stop. D- Don't n- n- need -elp."

"Of course not, but we still want to help. I want to help. (N/N), it's not healthy nor safe for you to heal on your own. Opening up to others may be difficult, but it's what's best for you. The person you open up to doesn't have to be me. It can be whoever you chose- whoever you chose!- but it is important for you to talk to somebody." By the end of his little speech, he managed eye context with you.

"I- I w- w- want-" you started to tear up.

"What do you want? Just name it."

"T- To- uh."

"You want to what?"

Your breathing become labored. You closed your eyes to help concentrate on spitting the words out, but talking was so foreign to you. You could easy think the words, but pronouncing them was an entirely different story. Talking scared you. Since you were nine, every time you spoke you got beaten. You hadn't spoken to anyone besides Hiccup in years. You were scared.

"S- Sc- scare-" you tried.

"Shh. Shh," Hiccup soothed, pulling you into his arms. "I'm sorry for pushing you. Don't be scared. Shh. Shh. Calm down, (N/N). That's it. Deep breaths. Shh."

It took a few minutes, but you finally started to calm down. You both reminded silent for quite some time. Hiccup rocked you back and forth in a slow, calming manner; you stared into his kind eyes, leaning your head against his shoulder.

You had nearly fallen asleep when he suddenly asked, "Want to play a game? You won't have to talk, unless you want to, that is."

You smiled- though it was small- and nodded. You started to stand but he stopped you.

"No. We can play like this. I rather like how we're sitting," he teased, tickling your cheek with his nose. You giggled. He tickled you a bit more, enjoying your uncontrollable laughter, before settling down when you tried to run away. "Okay. We can finish this tickle war later. For now, how about we play twenty questions? I'll ask the questions, unless you want to ask me something. Sound fair?"

You nodded, having a good idea about his questions would be about. Hiccup was right, you had to open up. He must've figured speaking wasn't the way to go, so this game would help some. He was a clever boy, alright. You squirmed for a second, nervous.

"I'll try to stick to yes or no questions, okay?" You nodded, pleased that he would go about this in such a fashion just for you. It made you happy. "I'll also ask more than twenty questions," he added with a smirk. You couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, first question: is your favorite color in this room?"

You blinked, surprised. Not what you expected the first question to be. You took your time looking around the room, already knowing the answer to his question. You looked him straight in the eye and nodded confidently.

"Can you point to it?" You lifted your hand and pointed at his eye, then his other eye. "Your favorite color is the color of my eyes?" he asked, amused. You smiled brightly and nodded once. "You know what?" You shook your head no. "You're so adorable."

He leaned forward, using his arms to lift you up, and kissed you.

He slowly broke the kiss but suddenly asked, "Do you like it here?"

You were still in a blissful daze, so it took you a few moments to nod.

He laughed, "Did my kiss effect you that much?"

Again, you nodded, seemingly less in daze.

"Hmm. Next question: did your parents beat you often?" He opened that door so quickly, you were surprised he didn't gradually get to the main topic. He always surprised you. Your smile vanished, but you nodded. "Daily?" You nodded, moving your gaze to your hands, which laid in your lap.

His grip on you tightened. You looked back up at Hiccup to see anger. You sucked in a sharp breath.

"I won't let anyone hurt you again, (N/N). I promise." He took a minute, taking deep breaths while hiding his face in your neck. You calmed him by running your fingers through his hair, knowing how much you enjoyed the feeling of his fingers running through your hair. He straightened up soon enough. "Thank you.

"Now, on with the game. I'm guessing they didn't let you eat every day, am I correct?" You nodded. "They fed you every other day?" You shook you head no. "Every three days?" You shrugged, for sometimes. You held up three fingers, then four, then five.

He swallowed his saliva but continued.

"Moving on, um. Oh! I know: did-" the game went on for hours. After a few more questions about your parents, Hiccup diverted away from the past and moved on to less depressing questions. He asked about this and that, your favorite way to pass the time, which you answered by hugging him (cuddling with him) then using your hand to pretend a dragon was flying. He asked many questions. A few of them involved you having to get up and move around to answer.

At the end of the day, you were worn out from all the fun you had. You plopped down on the bed, still breathless from the tickle war you just lost. Hiccup suddenly put his hands on either side of you. He used his arms to keep his weight off of you and just hovered over you.

"Hey, beautiful girl," he said, quietly. You giggled. "Come here." He placed his lips against yours. You eagerly kissed back. A simple kiss soon turned into a make out session. More like two.

By the time he broke the kiss and rolled onto his side, you were both panting for air. Neither of you could stop smiling like lunatics.

"Goodnight, (N/N)," he said, pulling you into his arms. "I love you."

"I- I l- love y- you. T- thank y- you f- for e- e- every- thing."

He beamed. "No need. I'd do anything for you, mi'lady. Thank you," he emphasized, poking your nose," for talking. I love hearing your beautiful voice."

You let out a short giggle before snuggling into him and closing your eyes and letting dreams engulf your being. He tightened his grip but not enough to hurt you and fell asleep himself.

Everything was perfect. And it was all thanks to Hiccup.

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