[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200123/bcaa8b3399dd09b06e4e4e08dac499e3.png[/img][/center][hr][hr][center][b]LOCATION: New Berk[/b][/center][hr]
[indent] Steven's eyes lit up when they set on the village in front of him - like, of course he still had all of those wonky bad feelings in his head, but it was [i]kinda[/i] hard to stay [i]stuck[/i] in that mindset when encountering something that literally looked like it was pulled from a fantasy movie, y'know? It was made even better when Hiccup launched into a delightful spiel about Berk, and Toothless rose up to mock his owner. Oh man, this dragon is absolutely [i]adorable.[/i] He felt [i]so bad[/i] that their first interaction was him whacking the creature upside the head... He had to make it up to [i]the dragon,[/i] somehow. Stars, how do you apologize to a dragon in a way they understand-?

[color=fdc68a]"The only problem-"[/color] Hiccup's face fell, and his tone shifted to a more somber one. As Toothless forced himself under Hiccup's hand, cooing and, Hiccup pet the dragon and continued, [color=fdc68a]"The only problem is that there [i]is[/i] no problem. No dragons trying to steal our stuff for some tyrannical queen.. No dragon racing, not even an overcrowded Berk. I kinda miss having the occasional bad guy- I don't wanna sound weird but I really miss all of.. This."[/color] 

The Night Fury gave an almost offended-sounding grumble as Hiccup gestured to the entirety of the dragon.

[color=fdc68a]"Exactly."[/color]

...That probably shouldn't have struck [i]such[/i] a resonant chord in Steven, but it did. Steven's own expression fell as any distrust that might've been lingering in his heart and mind dissipated. Maybe he was still super naive and too trusting, but.. he felt that Hiccup was a lot like him. Kind. Selfless. Just trying to do the right thing. He's a little blunt with his words and tone, but he means well and he's doing the best with what he's got. That's all anyone could ask for.

[color=ed145b][b]"It's not weird at all,"[/b][/color] Steven replies, [color=ed145b][b]"Cause I understand completely. I mean.."[/b][/color] He sort of grins, because.. honestly, it also felt good to [i]deliver exposition[/i] again. He hasn't had the chance to do it in a while. [color=ed145b][b]"This is definitely going to sound crazy to you, but back where I'm from - Beach City - I have [i]also[/i] solved everyone's problems. I've been the glue that kept my family together since I was like, 6 or 7; I've kept Beach City safe from alien invaders since I was [i]12[/i]; When I was 15 I worked to dismantle a three-way dictatorship [i]across space[/i] in the span of about a year; and then when I got home, it only took like, [i]5 and a half minutes[/i] till someone tried to obliterate my planet with a poison-filled injector. But I fixed it all. There's no big bad to protect against, no breakdowns to prevent.. Everybody's safe. Now I'm-"[/b][/color] He bit the inside of his lip a bit, realizing what he was just about to do. Like, even if he did feel an immediate kinship with this guy, if he couldn't talk to his [i]own family[/i] about his feelings without hurting them, there's no way he'd unload his problems on some dude he just met. It was a disservice to him and it'd just make the whole situation worse. He didn't need to learn the same lesson twice.

He waited maybe another second or two, trying to play it off his hesitation as an intentional dramatic pause instead. When he felt like it was long enough, he continued with a smile on his face, [color=ed145b][b]"Yeah. That's it! That's the life of [i]Steven Universe~![/i]"[/b][/color] He accentuated his name further with an upward inflection and [i]jazz hands.[/i] He didn't even really mean to do it, it just kind of.. happened. 

It felt right in the moment.
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