Hiccup tried to put everything he was thinking into words. After their previous bickering, the bickering that had happened before they'd made up after Ozai's release on the ship during Visitation Day, he found himself wanting to be sure Zuko understood how he thought of him. It seemed like something that ought to be reaffirmed every now and again, given how unhappy Zuko always seemed, given he had the sister and father that treated him the way they did, given that the few times Zuko'd talked about his self-worth, it'd always sounded so negative, like there was this bar he thought he could never reach.
Over time, Hiccup had started to see what kind of person his sifu was, and that meant he now noticed all the little flaws and quirks and delusions, and every since the thing with Ozai, he'd been trying to figure out a way to deal with those.
Staying and throwing a rock at Ozai's head probably had helped communicate some of how he felt about it, but sometimes he wondered how tenuous their friendship was when a fight like the last one had happened at all--or at least he wondered how tenuous it was on Zuko's end. On Hiccup's, he could forgive the short-temperedness and the impulsive anger. That was all part and parcel of entire Zuko package.
His father and Gobber'd were battle-brothers, though--they had a sort of inherent understanding of each other, Hiccup had that kind of understanding with Toothless, and it was something he found himself wanting with Zuko, too.
So Hiccup tried to couch his sincerity in a way that he hoped Zuko would understand, deep in his bones. He came up with the supremely touching:
"I'm just...I'm just trying to say that I'd let you throw up on me, too."
It was the sort of thing he felt like saying every time Zuko was grumpy, though he definitely probably wouldn't have used that precise wording, even though he fully acknowledged it probably wouldn't ever make him not-grumpy, and even though he liked Zuko even when he was grumpy, anyway.
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Over time, Hiccup had started to see what kind of person his sifu was, and that meant he now noticed all the little flaws and quirks and delusions, and every since the thing with Ozai, he'd been trying to figure out a way to deal with those.
Staying and throwing a rock at Ozai's head probably had helped communicate some of how he felt about it, but sometimes he wondered how tenuous their friendship was when a fight like the last one had happened at all--or at least he wondered how tenuous it was on Zuko's end. On Hiccup's, he could forgive the short-temperedness and the impulsive anger. That was all part and parcel of entire Zuko package.
His father and Gobber'd were battle-brothers, though--they had a sort of inherent understanding of each other, Hiccup had that kind of understanding with Toothless, and it was something he found himself wanting with Zuko, too.
So Hiccup tried to couch his sincerity in a way that he hoped Zuko would understand, deep in his bones. He came up with the supremely touching:
"I'm just...I'm just trying to say that I'd let you throw up on me, too."
It was the sort of thing he felt like saying every time Zuko was grumpy, though he definitely probably wouldn't have used that precise wording, even though he fully acknowledged it probably wouldn't ever make him not-grumpy, and even though he liked Zuko even when he was grumpy, anyway.