Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"C'mon bud!" Hiccup urged the nightfury on, the dragon warbled at his rider as he raced over the crashing waves, weaving between the sea stacks and the odd fishing ship, the two of them had gone out for a ride as the sun rose, the stunning colours spanning the sky as the two climbed in altitude, Hiccup laughing when Toothless flipped upside down to dangle his rider for a few seconds, the weather was perfect, and there was not a single hunter ship to be seen, "It's beautiful, huh, Toothless?" Hiccup patted the dragon's neck gently, Toothless hummed in agreement.

The young rider and his dragon landed on an island briefly, Hiccup allowing his best friend to get some water and refuel his energy, watching happily as Toothless pounced around on a falling leaf, snorting as it landed on his nose, and finally catching it between his claws, "I think it's dead, bud." Hiccup snorted as Toothless ripped it apart, sitting back on his haunches proudly, before heading towards the stream and gulping down some water, and, a few mystery fish, Hiccup made a mental note to come back with Fishlegs to study the unidentified fish that seemed to live here.

"Time to head back to the Edge, Toothless?" the addressed dragon flung Hiccup onto his back and pranced around briefly as if saying "way ahead of you!"

However, the Edge was just barely in view when Toothless dropped from the sky suddenly, roaring his discomfort into the sky, "Woah Toothless-what's happening? Bud?!" Hiccups panicked shouting carried towards the Edge, where the rest of the riders, who were still rubbing sleep from their eyes, began running to their dragons in the stables, the usually nimble Astrid tripping over her own feet in her sleep-deprived rush as she mounted Stormfly.

Toothless attempted to fight back into the air, but his flapping was weak and sloppy, and all he succeeded in doing was aiming the two of them towards an unfortunately placed sea stack, Hiccup looked up from his dragon just in time to see the rock face grow closer, feeling the full force of the impact as Toothless smashed into the stack, flinging both himself and his rider into the sea.

The riders, still mounting their respective dragons, watched as their friend and leader went plummeting into the water, his dragon not far behind, "We have to get out there, now!" Astrids' panicked voice rose above the twins who were attempting to fight one Barf and Belch out of sleeping, Snotlout nodded, "Leave those two muttonheads, they'll figure it out...maybe," He and Hookfang took to the sky directly behind Astrid, Fishlegs dragging Meatlug away from her breakfast of granite.

"Gods-where is he?" Astrid swept over where they saw Hiccup fall for the fourth time, each time becoming more desperate to spot his mess of brown hair, "I got Toothless!" Snotlout cheered, Hookfang scooping up the unconscious black dragon out of the water, "Hiccup can't be far then!" Fishlegs said, attempting to reassure Astrid, "we're running out of time, Fishlegs!" She snapped at him, regretting her tone as Fishlegs deflated, "I know."

"Hey! Guys!" Ruffnut beckoned the others over, her and Tuff hanging upside down off their dragon, pulling one of the shoulder plates that Hiccup wore out of the water, "oh, gods..." Fishlegs worried tone did not help settle anyone's nerves, especially not Snotlouts as he swooped back over, "Fishlegs, you might wanna check on Toothless, you know more than I do," He called over to the blond boy, who nodded shakily and hovered off towards the Edge, where the lump of wet black scales lay.

Astrid blinked the tears out of her eyes, continuing to search for her boyfriend in the waves, although by now, she thought, no one could still be alive in the water, Snotlout seemed to echo those thoughts, as he started searching in a more sporadic way, searching for his lost friend, even the twins sobering up for the first time in a while as they dragged Barf and Belch's claws through the water to try and find Hiccup.

"There!" finally, the shout came from Tuff, and he and Ruffnut dove towards the boy, who, by some miracle, had latched onto a fallen tree branch, Barf and Belch's claws scooped the boy up, carrying him back to the Edge, Astrid and Snotlout exchanging a worried look as they followed.

"You think he'll be okay?" Astrid asked quietly, Gothi scratched around in the dirt for a moment, and Gobber translated, "Probably, the poor lad swallowed a lot of sea water and suffered...burnt floor drama?" he paused, "That's odd," Gothi firmly whacked him on the head and scribbled some more, "Ahhh, blunt force trauma, sorry, sometimes Gothi's handwriting gets a bit...messy," Gobber said, and she hit him again. Stoick, who had been knelt next to his son's bed nodded, "He's a Haddock. He will pull through," but the chief sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than anything else, he cleared his throat, "Gobber, Gothi, we should...let the riders have a moment with him," Stoick beckoned the two out, leaving the riders alone.

"Oh, Hiccup..." Fishlegs whispered as he saw his friend, who looked even smaller as he lay in bed, face scraped up from the sea stack, his skin pale, and the only thing proving his life was his shallow breathing, "Man, he looks terrible," Tuffnut said, only to be elbowed by his sister, "What? we're all thinking it," "Shut up, Tuffnut." Snotlout muttered, although he often caused Hiccup problems, he still cared for the boy.

It was days before Astrid finally left Hiccups bedside, Toothless had regained consciousness, and Fishlegs said he knew the cause of his sudden drop from the sky, calling all dragon riders to the stables, "It's these fish...I've never seen them before, but, they contain heavy amounts of dragon root. it must grow near wherever they swam, and they must feed off it...Toothless couldn't digest them, he threw it all up when he woke up," Fishlegs explained, kicking one of the regurgitated fish in disgust.

Stoick, Gobber, and Gothi had to leave back to Berk, only after Gothi promised Stoick that Hiccup would be okay, and delivering specific instructions for when he would wake up, which included rest, not flying, and eating small amounts of food at a time, "He's gonna love that," Snotlout said sarcastically, "No, he won't?" Tuffnut said, "Yeah, especially the not flying part, that'll kill him." Ruff agreed, "It's called sarcasm, muttonheads." Snotlout snapped.

The day Hiccup did finally wake up, Astrid was dozing off in the chair next to his bed, and Toothless was determined to be a lap dragon, with his head in her lap, crushing the poor girl's legs, "Astrid...?" Hiccup tried to open his eyes, pushing up on his arms, and immediately crashed back onto his pillows, "Hiccup? Hiccup!" Astrid pushed Toothless off her, the dragon snorting and crossing to the other side of the bed to lick Hiccup's head, "Urgh...hey, bud..." he raised a hand to gently push the worried dragon's head away, only earning an extra lick to his hand, before the dragon sat back to observe.

"How do you feel, Hiccup?" Astrid asked cautiously, placing her hand on his chest gently to push him back down, "Awful, my chest hurts, my head feels like Thor himself is trying to split it open, and everything is sore," The brunet looked at her, and she couldn't help but coo a little at him, "Yeah, it was a pretty rough crash you took. Toothless ate fish that feed off of dragon root, that's why you fell," Toothless warbled at him, as if to apologize for the fall, and Hiccup patted his neck weakly, "Not your fault, bud," he looked at Astrid, "How long has it been?" she sighed, "Nine days, your dad finally left with Gobber and Gothi two days ago, I'll have to send him a terror mail,"

Hiccup frowned, "Why don't we just fly over, show him I'm alright?" Astrid bit her lip and averted her gaze, "On Gothi's orders...you can't fly for a while," Hiccup sat bolt upright, "What?!" his yell echoed over the Edge, alerting the rest of the riders that he had finally woken.

"Betcha he just found out he can't fly," Snotlout snickered to the twins as they rushed up towards Hiccup's hut, the relief crashing over all the riders as they opened the door to see Hiccup trying to argue Astrid into letting him fly already.

Chapter Text

For Snotlouts entire life his father had looked down on him, and when he became a dragon rider he truly thought that their relationship would change, that Spitelout would finally respect him, tell him that he's proud, anything to show he actually cared for his son, but, Snotlout had learned to live with the disappointment of his father.

The relationship took a steep nosedive as Snotlout returned home to Berk for his mother, his mother had unfortunately taken a fall from her Gronckle and broken an arm and fractured her leg, and the Gronckle had suffered a wing break as well, which lead to his mother needing some more help around the household, which Spitelout, to no ones surprise, had no interest in supplying.

This left his young son to help the woman out, by bringing food home, wood for the fire and fixing the holes in the table because Spitelout just had to throw his ax there each time they sat down to eat, claiming that, "A man must have his weapon on hand at all times, boyo!" and the snide comments of, "Which explains why you don't have a weapon nearby," and he would always laugh as if he had made the funniest joke of all time, before running out the door again to go make someone else's life miserable.

His mother would always tell him to ignore his father, that he was like that to everyone, and that she was proud to call Snotlout her son, even if he wasn't.

He never understood why his mother had married Spitelout, she was too kind, too beautiful, too gentle, just generally too perfect for him, but his mother tells him that a long time ago, he was kind, he too was gentle, that he would sweep her off her feet and bring her flowers daily, she didn't know what changed with him, but she says the day that Snotlout was born, Spitelout was over the moon for the birth of his son, that he had never been so careful around another human being, that he would sing Snotlout to sleep every night.

So what changed? Snotlout couldn't help but wonder, for each time he thought back to his childhood, he could only think of his father berating him for something, not being strong enough, not being 'man' enough, not being good enough.

He couldn't remember the kind man his mother described, only the way he would hide and cry in the back of the arena after dragon-killing school, taking a long way home, and, the thing he regretted the most, taking his own emotions out on Hiccup.

"So, Snotlout," he jolted to attention as the man himself, Spitelout, took the head seat of the table, "Yeah, dad?" he didn't look up from the roast yack, not that his father noticed, he was far too busy tearing into his own food, "I hear you and your wee friends are quite the force, keepin' the dragon hunters at bay, n' such," his father continued without bothering to look at his son, or his wife for that matter, who seemed to be suddenly uncomfortable with the conversation, "Yeah we are, what about it?" Snotlout responded cautiously, glancing at his mother, who seemed very interested in her drink.

"Yer mum n' I was thinkin'-" Spitelout started, but his wife cut him off, "Don't bring me into this one, Spitelout, you were thinking," She said firmly, and he shrugged and continued "fine, I was thinkin', how much could you actually contribute, ya know? you could probably come home n' they wouldn't notice, yeah?" he finally looked up at his son who was shrinking slowly in his chair, "I-I do a lot, dad, I'm part of the team, ask anyone-" his father waved him off, "Yer mum needs help around the house, ya know, girly stuff, cookin', cleanin', sewin', and yer the perfect person ta help, since yer...ya know, girly."

Normally Snotlout would've let the insult roll off his back, Hell, maybe he would've taken it as a compliment, Astrid was a girl and he would kill to be on her level, even Ruffnut was someone he wouldn't mind being compared to, but the way his father said it, the look in his eye, and the way he fully believed that Snotlout would drop being on the riders, stop fighting the hunters, and just come home to help his mother-Spitelouts wife in housework because his father was too proud to help, that pushed him off an edge.

"Are you joking?" Snotlout stood up suddenly, Spitelout looked surprised for a moment before "Course not, I could take yer place on the riders, you could come 'ere and help yer mum," he seemed so un-phased by what he was saying, his wife looked scandalized, "Spitelout, just because you're jealous that your son is more famous than you, doesn't mean you get to continuously tear him down," she scolded, giving Snotlout the time to leave the house in a rush.

He made it midway into town before he collided straight into Astrid, knocking them both down, "Ah-what the Hell Snotlout?" she snarled, sitting up on the ground, before, "Are you crying?" he quickly hid his face, "No-it's-stupid dust," he scrambled to his feet, "Sorry, Astrid," He sniffed before beginning to run away, "Stop!" Astrid grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the open part of town to somewhere more private.

"Okay, what's up?" she practically demanded, and he flinched, "It's my dad-it's always my dad," he started, "Says I should come home for good and he'll take my place on the riders, that I'm not 'man' enough, or whatever, doesn't matter Astrid," he waved his hands around wildly, and Astrid snarled, "I'm actually gonna kill him-who does he think he is?" she reached for her ax, Snotlout kicking it just out of reach before she could grab it, "Not worth it, Astrid. I just want to go home, to the Edge," she didn't comment that he called the Edge 'home', and not Berk, but instead agreed, "Then let's get flying." She offered him a hand, with a small smile, and they headed toward their dragons.

"Hey, Astrid?" Snotlout looked over at her as she swung her leg over Stormfly, "Yeah?" she replied, "Thanks, and also, tell anyone I cried and I swear to god, Hookfang and I will-" she cut him off, "Anytime. and you know I won't."

Chapter Text

"We never get sick!" something that the twins would always say, claiming that their Thorston blood was immune to all illnesses, however, Ruffnut had been overcome by a mysterious sickness, she was feverish and pale, still trying to claim that she wasn't sick as she stumbled around the Edge, one Barf and Belch following her around and trying to make sure she didn't fall, her twin brother followed at a distance, talking to Chicken intently.

Tuffnut seemed to believe that Ruffnut was not in fact sick, but cursed, and all the rest of the riders heard about for the several unfortunate days that Ruff would stumble around muttering gibberish, was how many spirits they had pissed off in their days, how many people they had Loki'd, maybe one of them died and had come back to haunt her, that was his leading theory anyway.

"I'm not-" Ruffnut stumbled into the door of the clubhouse, Barf nudged her back in, where she promptly fell on her face, deciding to just stay down, she rolled over to look at Fishlegs, "-sick," she finished, her friend looked down at her, unimpressed, "Yeah, sure you're not," He was still looking through his books of medicines and illnesses, "I don't get it, her symptoms don't match anything in my books," he glanced towards Hiccup who shrugged back at him and returned to his lunch, "Yeah- of course it doesn't match anything in you nerd book," Tuffnut marched in, "She's being haunted," he said matter-of-factly, the rest of the riders groaning at the statement.

"What? look at the facts," Tuff continued, "We Thorstons never get sick, and Ruff here has made quite a few people angry in her days," His sister nodded from the floor, "That I have, dear brother of mine, that I have," she sat up slowly, "Look, guys, I get that you don't wanna face the facts, but this ghost is probably gonna hang out for a while, might as well admit that I am being haunted," she reached for her brother to pull her up but pulled him down with her instead, Tuff scrambled away from her, "Ah! You'll pass the ghost to me, don't touch me, creature!" he stood up and backed away from his sister.

Ruffnut continued to attempt to persuade the other riders that she was fine, however as her condition worsened, the rest of the gang got increasingly worried, even Tuffnut dropped his 'haunting' theory when he saw his sister's pale skin, her veins unnervingly blue against it, when they finally decided that enough was enough and took her to Gothi they were told that Ruff had somehow poisoned herself, "Of course!" Tuffnut exclaimed, the riders looking at him nervously, "We were experimenting with Barf's gas the other day and she said she was feeling woozy, but I kinda figured she'd be fine, I mean she rides Barf, how sensitive can she still be to his gas yannow?" Hiccup sighed, "Tuffnut, even if she's used to it, Hideous Zippleback gas is still toxic, she can't just inhale it all day, I can't believe you two,"

Gothi scratched around in the sand, "She says she'll be fine, it'll wear off on its own in a day or so," Gobber scratched his chin, patting Ruffnut on the shoulder, "Alrighty then kids, off with ya," he waved as the riders departed, Hiccup still berating Tuffnut on being responsible, Ruffnut weakly interjecting with "It was so awesome though, Hiccup, totally worth being poisoned," to which the leader face-palmed and motioned to the twins exasperatedly, Astrid laughing at the crazed look in his eyes.

"Well," Fishlegs started, "I guess the twins were right, they do never get sick," He shrugged at the two, who were back to smashing their heads together and laughing, "Yeah, I wonder why," Snotlout said sarcastically, watching in disgust as Tuffnut broke a piece of awfully moldy bread and shared it with his sister, the riders shuddering and looking away as the twins happily munched on their snack.

Chapter Text

The other riders always spoke about Astrid like she was indestructible, the strongest warrior, the best fighter, and one of the most terrifying people to go up against, but she sure as hell didn't feel like it.

She could never train hard enough for herself, she could never be fast enough, never strong enough, never good enough, the others would often stop to watch her training, always in awe of the accuracy that she could throw her axes and the precision of Stormflys spineshot, they all thought that Astrid knew how good she was, she certainly presented herself confidently at their meetings and on the battlefield.

But Astrid could never shake the feeling that they were just being kind when they would tell her how good she was, and always just assumed that they were taking pity on her when they applauded as she trained.

She would push herself to the edge of breaking to train, one such occasion leaving her so exhausted she relied on Stormfly to walk her to the Clubhouse for their meeting, "Man, you look terrible," Tuffnut commented as she stumbled into the room, Hiccup quickly moved to grab her by the shoulders and move her to sit down, Ruffnut awarded a hit to the back of her brothers head, "You're not supposed to say that out loud, bro," she shook her head at him, "Don't you know anything about women?" Tuffnut gasped indignantly, but Hiccup interrupted before he could come up with a response.

"Astrid, what happened? Hunters? Flyers? Trappers?" he looked to Fishlegs, who was worriedly watching the blonde girl attempt to pick up a cup of water, Hiccup taking pity on her and guiding the cup to her mouth, "None of that, I was just...training," She looked around, even Snotlout was looking at her in concern, 'great', she thought, 'I just made everyone worried, and for what?'

"What are you training for? you're the best of us," Fishlegs said quizzically, "Well, I don't know about the best but-" Snotlout took an elbow to the ribcage from Ruffnut before he could finish, doubling over gasping, Astrid frowned, "Stop lying to me-I'm not the best, I don't need the pity," she motioned around angrily, Hiccup just barely dodging from getting hit, "Astrid what are you on about?" he said, taking her wrists gently as to avoid someone getting knocked out.

Astrid shook her head angrily, "Whatever, guys, if you won't admit it, it's fine. but I know what you're doing," she stood, knees buckling underneath her, she gasped before Hiccup, once again to the rescue, caught her, "Astrid there's clearly something wrong," He pushed the hair off her forehead, checking her temperature, before she hit his hand away, "I'm fine, Hiccup." she said firmly, pushing him away from her, managing to stumble towards the door, and taking balance on Stormfly.

"Okay, what the Hell was that about?" Snotlout was the first to speak up after she left, "No idea," Hiccup paced worriedly, "She knows she's the best fighter, I don't get why she thinks we're lying," he frowned at the door, "It doesn't make sense," Fishlegs agreed, doing his best to ignore the twins banging their heads together, "But if she keeps it up, she'll kill herself doing it," with that, Hiccup left the Clubhouse in a panic.

Astrid wobbled her way back into her hut, Hiccup catching the door before it could slam in his face, "Astrid, what's going on with you?" he asked, trying to soothe his own nerves as he saw her pale face, "It's nothing, Hiccup, I just...need to be stronger, I'm not strong enough, I can't do anything right and-" "What the Hell are you on about?" Hiccup cut her off, gently pushing Astrid onto her bed, sitting next to her, "Astrid, you're definitely the strongest rider here, and the scariest Viking I have ever met," she scoffed, knocking his hand off of her shoulder, "Yeah, right."

Hiccup's brow furrowed as he watched her eyes well up with tears, the blonde blinking them away as quickly as they came, and it was when she started sniffling that he pulled her close to his chest, stroking her head gently, "Astrid, we're telling the truth, I don't get how you can't see it," the two of them sat together for a while, the exhausted warrior eventually falling asleep against her boyfriend, hearts beating as one.

Chapter Text

Hiccups day had started...poorly, he was only partially through his breakfast when the twins came in, yelling about a herd of migrating Monsterous Nightmares, which is how he ended up with Snotlout, pushing the flaming dragons away from the Edge as best as they could, and, Snotlout being, well, Snotlout, it had become a competition for which one of them could herd the dragons better, and Hiccup was, as usual, losing spectacularly to Snotlout.

He was certain that he could be winning, however, his leg was killing him that day, but not the leg he was currently in possession of, the foot and the part of the leg that he lost in the fight with the Red Death, was in the most agony he had felt in, well, since he had lost it initially.

"Man, Hiccup, we just kicked your ass," Snotlout paused meaningfully between each word, flying a victory lap around the other, Hiccup bit back a response, too focused on the burning pain in the non-existent limb, "That you did, Snotlout, let's head back?" the words came out more pleadingly then Hiccup had wanted, but Snotlouts gloating face turned briefly to concern before he masked up again, he couldn't be caught caring, it would ruin his reputation.

The two landed with a thud on the ground, Hiccup slumping off of Toothless' back, using the dragon's head for support, "Hiccup, you good?" Snotlout glanced over to watch him limp out, "Yeah-all good, don't worry," Hiccup waved off the concern, "I tied my leg on too tight, hurts a bit," he lied as the rest of the riders looked at him worriedly, this answer seemed to appease most of them, although Fishlegs furrowed his brow at the statement, he could've loosened the tie if it hurt him, the story didn't check out for the blond boy.

Hiccup flopped into his bed, sighing in relief at the pressure coming off his leg as he untied the pegleg, the pain still stabbing harshly at him, but taking the weight off seemed to soothe it ever so slightly, Toothless nosing the stump gently, flinching backward as Hiccup yelped and pushed his nose away abruptly, the dragon warbling apologetically to the Viking, "It's okay, bud. I don't know what's wrong either," he patted Toothless' neck, fingers curling in pain as another wave crashed over him.

Hiccup eventually fell into a fitful sleep, and the sun had only barely begun to set when Tuffnut finally pointed out his absence, "Hey, has anyone seen Hiccup since he and Snotlout got back?" the others glanced around, shaking their heads, "Something was weird with him today, weirder than usual, I mean," Snotlout commented, "Yeah I noticed it too, when you guys got back," Fishlegs said, "It doesn't make sense that the leg being too tight was bothering him, why didn't he just loosen it?" Astrid nodded "Yeah, he's smarter than that," "Is he though?" Ruffnut teased, even without Hiccup present, "Kidding, kidding, jeez tough crowd."

The riders agreed eventually to ask Hiccup what was happening in the morning, tired out from chasing Monsterous Nightmares around all day, they headed to bed. All except for Fishlegs, who stayed up reading in a medical book.

It was breakfast when Hiccup was helped into the Clubhouse by Toothless, and he was very notably missing his peg leg, instead, he hopped awkwardly to his seat, "Uh, Hiccup?" Astrid started, "What's with the leg, bunny-boy?" Tuffnut took the opportunity to throw a jab at his leader, smirking at the glares thrown his way.

"My leg just hurts a bit today," Hiccup responded, not bothering to look at his friends, "What leg?" Ruffnut and Snotlout responded in unison, laughing together, Hiccup ignored them, "how does it hurt?" Fishlegs asked, flipping through the book he had fallen asleep with.

"Like the part that's missing-" Hiccup put his cup down violently as the pain surged back over him, "that's what hurts," he glanced at his friends, who all looked confused, "You're telling me you have a ghost foot?" Tuffnut said as he cradled Chicken, "I mean, I wouldn't put it like that, but yeah, I guess," Hiccup waved it off, "It's fine."

Hiccup had refused to talk more about the 'ghost foot', forcing the rest of the riders to go about their days, and try not to worry about their friend, who was pitifully limping around the Edge, "I'm gonna get him to sit down," Astrid said after she watched Hiccup lose his balance for what seemed to be the hundredth time, "Yeah, good luck with that, A," Tuffnut clapped her on the shoulder, "That is one stubborn one-legged Viking."

Astrid called Fishlegs over after she fought Hiccup into taking a break, who jumped to action in taking care of the brown-haired boy, calling the twins to get ice for the stump of a leg, and making a poultice to be placed on it.

The pain seemed to eventually subside, however, Astrid helped Hiccup stumble back to his own hut as the sun went down, their dragons hopping around together happily.

"Thanks, Astrid," Hiccup smiled at her, and she ruffled his hair affectionately, "I got your back, Hiccup," he tried to stop her hands from messing with his already ruffled brown hair, but ultimately failed.

Astrid turned to leave the hut, Hiccup catching her arm before she left, pulling her towards him again, "Hey, Hiccup, what are you-" he kissed her quickly, "Thanks again." he smiled playfully at her, letting her leave in stunned silence.

Chapter Text

Snotlout had gotten used to it by this point, getting 'home', getting hit, getting berated for things he didn't do, things he did do, things other people did, and eventually, pulling himself up the cold stone stairs to his room to nurse his wounds, getting ready to lie to the other riders about how he got them.

This day was...particularly bad, his father, if you could even call him that, had been out with some of his awful friends, who, as usual, continued to fill Spitelout's head with compliments, and insult the man's son, Spitelout always believed the things that his friends would tell him over his own child, and that night, his friends had led him to believe that Snotlout had been talking badly about his father, which to be fair, had some truth to it, but not to the extent that the men had told him.

The arrival of Spitelout, announced by the aggressive swinging and slamming of the door, sent Snotlout's mind buzzing, the overwhelming scent of alcohol wafting over the house quickly, the boy attempted to scramble up the stairs quietly, but Spitelout was too quick to throw his ax, blocking his son's path, causing the younger to yelp and fall back down the stairs.

"So, boyo," Snotlout flinched as his father advanced on him, wishing to god that Hookfang was closer, and not in the Academy, "I hear that you have some...issues, with me, is that right, son?" he sneered down at Snotlout on the last word, taunting the boy.

"I wish I wasn't your son," Snotlout found the courage to snap back, sorely regretting it as he took his father's boot to the face, the awful crunching of his nose telling him that it had broken on impact, Spitelouts ugly face coming closer as he lifted his son to eye level by the front of his shirt, "Wanna say that again, boyo?" he spat in the youngers face, jeering at him when he flinched backward again, "That's what I thought, coward." the man threw his son back into the stairs, watching in satisfaction when his head banged back a step.

Snotlout clutched at his head, blood dripping from his nose, and tears welling in his eyes, "Yer gonna cry, boy?" Spitelout jeered at him, "Maybe yer not even my son, yer mother always was a whore," he taunted, ignoring the fact that he and the other were practically identical, Snotlout wiped his nose before pushing himself to his feet, "You don't get to talk to me like that, dad," he said, trying to find the confidence he had when he teased Hiccup.

"Oh? don't I?" Spitelout laughed, raising his fist to hit again, and Snotlout wished he participated more in the self-defense portion of the classes at the Academy as he took another blow to the side of his head, "Oh, come on, dragon rider," Spitelout taunted, "Fight back if yer so strong," he watched in satisfaction as his son staggered a bit, Snotlout regaining his balance and raising his own fist, yelping as his father grabbed his arm and flipped him over their kitchen table, groaning when he slammed into the ground.

"I raised you stronger than this, Boyo," Spitelout snapped at him as he watched his son struggle back to his feet, "You barely raised me," Snotlout wiped more blood from his nose, "All you ever did was insult me, tear me down," he snarled at his father but was once again greeted by Spitelouts boot, this time to the chest, and the wind was torn from his chest as he was sent into the wall once more.

Spitelout tired of the fight soon, the alcohol lulling him to sleep and leaving Snotlout to drag himself out of the house, the only thought in his mind was 'find Hiccup' as he struggled into the town square, knees weak.

He mentally cursed Hiccup and the chief for having so many stairs up to their house as he wobbled upward, blinking tears out of his eyes and choking on his breath, the smell of blood in his nose, or what once was his nose anyway, he was sure his face looked disgusting, and he had no idea how he was going to lie his way out of this one.

Knocking on the door of the chief's hut had never felt so good, and the face of a sleep-deprived Hiccup was possibly the most beautiful thing Snotlout had ever seen, don't tell him he thought that.

"Snotlout, it's late-" Hiccup trailed off as he actually looked at his friend, "What the Hell happened?" the only response he got was a pitiful "Please, help." before Snotlout slumped forward into Hiccup, who stumbled under the sudden weight and did his best to drag him into the hut without causing further damage.

Hiccup was quick to call Fishlegs to his hut, the two of them doing their best to patch their friend up, "What do you think happened?" Hiccup finished cleaning the blood off Snotlouts face, and Fishlegs shrugged.

"He's always hurt, I wonder why," He brushed the hair out of Snotlouts face gently, examining the little cuts that littered his forehead and cheeks, "It's weird," Hiccup agreed, sitting down to think.

Snotlout woke up with the biggest headache he had ever experienced and throbbing pain in his nose, he sat up slowly, groaning at the movement, before a hand caught him on the chest and pushed him back, the worried face of Hiccup coming into view as he did, "Snotlout!" relief crashed over the son of the chief as he saw his friend come to, "How do you feel?" the question was stupid, and Hiccup knew it, but he had never seen Snotlout look so...vulnerable.

"Not...good," Snotlout said dizzily, glancing around the room to see Fishlegs asleep in a corner, and Stoick the Vast talking to...his father, eyes widening in panic, he tried to stand up to escape, only to crash back into the bed when Hiccup tripped him, "Woah, Snotlout, what's wrong?" Hiccup looked over him in concern, and Snotlout looked at his father in fear as Spitelout took a step toward him.

Hiccup finally clued in to what was happening and intercepted Spitelout, "Hey, uh, Spitelout, he doesn't look so good, maybe you shouldn't-" Spitelout pushed him out of the way "Nonsense, Hiccup, he's just dramatic, isn't that right, boyo?" he clapped a hand on Snotlouts shoulder, who flinched and looked up at his father in fear, "Yeah, just uh...dramatic..." he forced out, Hiccup looked to his father for help, who looked at the father and son duo, Spitelout looking at his son angrily, Snotlout positively shaking in fear while he stared at his father.

"That will be enough, Spitelout. Let the poor boy rest," Stoick removed Spitelouts hand and pushed him back, ushering him to the door and quickly silencing his protests and complaints, finally slamming the door after him.

"So, Snotlout," Stoick's gentle tone shocked Snotlout, usually when the chief talked to him it was because he did something stupid, but this time it was gentle, and what he assumed 'fatherly' was supposed to sound like, "What really happened to you?"

Snotlout told them everything, how since he was a boy his father had abused him for things he hadn't done, both mentally and physically, from forcing him to do embarrassing things in the middle of town to crushing his fingers individually after Snotlout had failed a course of dragon killing school.

By the end of his story Fishlegs had woken up, and he had never seen Stoick and Hiccup look so angry, he was so used to Hiccup calming others down that the look on his face almost scared him, Snotlout brought his arms close to his chest, almost trying to hug himself, "Please, don't make me go home," he avoided the gaze of the chief, who he assumed would laugh at his weakness and send him away anyway, but what he got instead was a gentle hand under his chin, forcing him to look at his friends and the chief, who no longer looked as angry, just sad and worried.

"You are never, ever, going back to that place," Stoick said firmly, "You'll stay here, as long as you need, alright, son?" and Snotlout could have cried on the spot, but, that could wait till after Hiccup had stopped looking at him so...caringly? Snotlout didn't have a lot of experience with that emotion, but he liked it, so far.

Chapter Text

Tuffnut had gone his whole life with people thinking he was stupid, and yeah, maybe he did dumb, reckless things, maybe he and his twin caused more trouble than every other person in Berk combined, but in all reality, he was pretty damn smart, and this time, he knew he was right.

Which is why it hurt so much when even Ruffnut didn't believe him when he ran into the Clubhouse in a panic, which, granted, he did do pretty often, but this time he actually knew exactly what he saw, a flock of Timberjacks headed towards Berk, and not a single one of his friends would believe him.

"They're heading for Berk and-guys?" Tuffnut was motioning around wildly, panicked that their home could very possibly be destroyed by the dangerous dragons, but as he looked around the room all he saw was the unimpressed expressions on his friends' faces, even his sister looked uninterested, "Sure they are, Tuff," Astrid shrugged it off, "And you definitely saw a fleet of dragon hunters the other day, that totally wasn't a bunch of rocks," Snotlout cackled, even Fishlegs laughed a bit, which stung Tuffnut more then he thought it could.

"I'm telling the truth, I swear it!" Tuffnut pleaded, but his friends had already returned to their previous conversations, and he growled angrily before storming out, grabbing Chicken and heading towards the stables, "C'mon, Chicken. if they won't listen to me, I'll go myself," he kicked the door open and instinctually walked to Barf and Belch's stall before he realized that he, in fact, was not two people, "Sorry, Belch...guess I'll have to take someone else today," he patted his dragon apologetically before shooting a look around the room, eyes landing on Hookfang, "Heya, Hooky, how ya been?"

Wrangling the Monsterous Nightmare proved to be harder than he thought, but eventually, he got the hang of it and the two of them shot off into the sky, leaving Snotlout yelling angrily after him.

"That-that idiot stole my dragon!" Snotlout screamed in Hiccup's face, who shuddered "Urgh, fish breath," which proved to be a mistake as Snotlout shrieked angrily, "Guys, have we even considered that maybe, and hear me out here, Tuffnut actually saw something?" Fishlegs stepped forward, shrinking under the incredulous gaze of the other riders, "I think Fishlegs is right, he wouldn't just fly off like that unless he actually saw something," Ruffnut agreed, and at the glare of her friends, "Okay, he probably would fly off like that, but not without me!"

They finally agreed to go after him, although Snotlout was less than pleased with riding Belch back to Berk and made it very clear how he felt about being in close quarters with, quote, 'Ruffnuts stinky fish hair', which Ruffnut thankfully took as a compliment.

Tuffnut realized his mistake of leaving without backup as he caught up to the massive dragons, Timberjacks were really, really underrated, he thought, their wings glinted in the sun, and the razor-sharp edges made him worry for the homes of Berk.

Flying on Hookfang was so different from flying with Barf and Belch, he was so accustomed to flying with his sister that he felt very alone on his flight back, but, no, 'She didn't believe me either.' he thought angrily, Hookfang trying desperately to keep up with the flock.

The other riders were only a few minutes behind him, and it wasn't long before they could finally see him, gasping collectively when they saw that Tuffnut had not, in fact, been making up the flock of Timberjacks.

"Shit," Hiccup cursed, he very rarely resorted to language, always having something witty to say, but as he saw that they had driven Tuffnut to try to stop a flock of very dangerous dragons on his own, he was all out of witty comments.

"That's really not good!" Fishlegs yelped, shaking atop Meatlug, who also didn't look terribly confident, "Thanks Fishlegs! hadn't realized," Snotlout replied dryly, "So, Hiccup, what's the plan?" Astrid yelled from atop Stormfly, and Hiccup shook his head "We need to change their course and get Tuffnut back on Belch, and Snotlout back on Hookfang," he motioned over at Snotlout, who was visibly struggling to control his half of Barf and Belch, "I am in full support of that plan!" Snotlout shouted, Ruffnut agreeing as their dragon spiraled for a moment.

"Tuff!" Hiccup yelled forward, and the addressed rider looked back, "Oh, so you decided to believe me!" he shouted, raising a fist to the other, "I'm sorry, Tuffnut! we should have trusted you!" Hiccup adjusted Toothless's tail and shot forward to join Tuffnut in the front, who was visibly upset, "You should have! I know I do a lot of dumb things, but I'm not stupid Hiccup!" He shouted toward the other boy, and the two of them slowed to join the other riders.

"We're sorry, Tuff," Astrid looked at him, still riding Hookfang, which Snotlout seemed to notice at that moment, "Well I sure as hell am not!" Snotlout snapped "Give me back my Hookfang!" he snarled at his friend for a moment before Tuffnut shrugged and hopped off of the Nightmare, landing and high-fiving his sister, "Good to have you back, bro!" Ruffnut cheered, "Between you and me, Snotlout is kind of a...nightmare if you know what I mean."

"Hiccup!" Fishlegs called to his friend, "Yeah?" Hiccup dropped back slightly to be able to look at Fishlegs as they spoke, "We should divert the Timberjacks to Birch Island, they'll love it, and it's not too far off course from Berk!" this suggestion seemed to be the only option available, so Toothless fired up towards the flock, grabbing the Timberjacks attention.

They managed to herd the flock away from Berk, with the twins only lighting one of Berk's houses on fire in the process, "A new record!" Ruffnut cheered, pumping a fist in the air, "We'll get it next time, sister!" they swooped to block an adolescent Timberjack from landing, causing a small explosion in its face and sending it flying to the rest of its flock.

The tired riders and dragons eventually set down in the middle of Berk, apologies running out of each rider, Tuffnut melting a little under all of the positive attention, but all's well that ends well, he supposed.

Chapter Text

Snotlout really tried to convince his friends, and all of Berk for that matter, that he was a confident, cocky, and fearless person, however, after years of being Spitelout's son, he found it hard to believe any of the words that came out of his own mouth, especially when his fellow dragon riders tore him down often, and although he knew they were just teasing, being told how annoying or how stupid he was almost daily.

He started doubting even his physical appearance, was he too short? Is his hair too disheveled? His clothes tacky? He would stand in front of the mirror that he used to admire himself in and pick apart his look, his eyes too sunken in from lack of sleep, nose too big, teeth not straight enough.

Then, the doubt about his ability set in. He could no longer fly straight, couldn't hit his targets, crashed more, even Hookfang seemed to be tired of him, although that couldn't be farther from the truth.

For if the dragon could speak he would snap back at the other riders for breaking his boys' confidence, tell Snotlout he was being an idiot, and probably berate him for their most recent crash landing, which had left Snotlout with noticeable scraping up his arms and legs, Hookfang himself had wound up with a stick through his foot, although the injury did little to stop the dragon from patrolling and flying all he liked, and Hookfang still worried more for his rider then himself.

Snotlout couldn't shake the feeling throughout their next mission, he felt as though he was weighing down his team, his shaky flying and inconsistent shooting were the sources of Astrid yelling at him, and the disappointed look in Hiccup's eyes stung more than Snotlout was willing to admit.

He wobbled off to his hut silently after the mission, which he played over and over in his head, he could've shot better there, done a barrel roll and destroyed those archers faster, hit through the deck in a better angle...he patted Hookfangs neck, the dragon snorting affectionately in Snotlout's hair before retiring to his bed in the stables.

The riders watched him as he left, exchanging worried looks before Fishlegs finally broke the silence, "He didn't look so good," his worry seeped into his voice, "He didn't do so good either," Ruffnut pointed out, rather unhelpfully, which she seemed to realize quickly, "Uh, sorry..."

"I'm sure he'll be fine. It is Snotlout, after all," Hiccup pointed out, "Let's get some rest, gang, and we'll see how he does tomorrow." he said firmly, waving off Fishlegs' protests.

Snotlout lay awake all night, tossing around in his bed as the events of the day continued to play on loop and the harsh words of Astrid stabbing him in the gut repeatedly, he clung his pillow to his chest and blinked back the tears that threatened to fall, but he couldn't stop a few from trickling down his cheeks.

The morning was rough for Snotlout, his few hours of sleep did nothing to prepare him for the long day of flying they had ahead of them, as they were returning to Berk for a meeting with Stoick in a few days, and his friends had wanted to return home early to see their families, Snotlout, on the other hand, hated the idea of spending extra time with his dear old dad.

His insecurities were gnawing at him internally as they flew, the twins taunting him as usual, Hiccup and Fishlegs talking about something nerdy, and Astrid was flying ahead to scout, and all he wanted to do was curl up and cry, but he could not appear weak in front of his friends, they would make so much fun of him, he hadn't realized his breathing coming faster and more urgent until Hiccups' voice cut into his thoughts.

"-lout? Snotlout?!" His leader was looking at him worriedly, not just him, Snotlout realized, all of the riders were, which only made it worse, losing altitude with Hookfang as his dragon lowered towards a large sea stack below them, his head spinning and still unable to take a proper breath in as he hyperventilated, Hookfang allowing him to slump onto the ground, where he promptly curled into a ball.

The dragon riders touched down next to him, worriedly dropping off their dragons and running to his side, but the hands that were suddenly all touching him made Snotlout panic more, pushing them off as hard as he could and scramble back, bumping into Hookfang, who swept a wing over him protectively.

"Guys, back off," Hiccup motioned for the others to stay behind him, pleading with his eyes for Hookfang to move his wing, the Nightmare begrudgingly shuffling to show his rider shaking and sobbing on the ground, even the twins didn't make a snide comment as they saw him, and Fishlegs could feel his heart shatter to pieces at the sight, Astrids usually tough expression softening.

'Pathetic, pathetic, pathetic...' Snotlout berated himself as he sat on the ground, still not getting enough oxygen, shaking stupidly hard and sniffling, 'they're all gonna hate you now, idiot, they know how weak and stupid and how much of a burden you are and-' his thoughts were once again interrupted by Hiccup, "Snotlout? can you hear me?"

He offered a shaky nod, Hiccup was crouched in front of him now, gently placing a hand on Snotlout's knee, who flinched but didn't recoil, and at that, Hiccup took the opportunity to shuffle closer, "You need to breathe, Snotlout," the boy tilted Snotlouts' face up to look at him, "Please."

He tried, he really did, but after choking on his breath a few times, he dissolved back into tears, to which Fishlegs dashed forward and softly nudged Hiccup out of the way, the blond placed a hand on Snotlout's chest, "Try to breathe with me, okay?" his voice was soft, and Snotlout nodded, his heart pounding in his ears.

Snotlout managed a few shaky breaths, Fishlegs smiling at him as he finally regained his control of breathing and wiped his tears with a trembling hand, "Sorry-I'm sorry," he managed to stutter out, and his friends tripped over themselves to reassure him that it was okay.

Ruffnut quickly joined Fishlegs on the ground kneeling in front of him, "Are you...okay?" she sounded so...caring, his heart squeezed at the thought that he had caused Ruffnut Thorston to be this concerned, and he nodded, "Ye-yeah, I'm...I'm fine," to which Astrid scoffed a laugh, "Don't lie to us, Snotlout," her voice was harsher than she intended, and she immediately bent down with the others, "Please, maybe we can help,"

He broke. The words spilled out of him, "I feel so worthless, I mean I'm not strong like Astrid, not smart like Hiccup and Fishlegs, not good with talking to people or lying out of a situation like Tuffnut, not good under pressure like Ruff, I'm not as good at flying or shooting, or anything. I feel like dead weight, like such a burden on you guys, you'd be better without me. I'm just a stupid, ugly, pathetic Viking, I'm not worth the concern, or energy, that you guys waste on me. I'm not worth anything."

And there went what was left of Fishlegs's heart, cracking and crumbling into the wind.

The stunned silence that followed Snotlout's little rant scared him, he knew they were gonna judge him, he knew it, they were about to start laughing, he closed his eyes, preparing for the insults to come, but they never did.

Instead, he was engulfed in a hug, Fishlegs smooshing him into his chest, whispering out apology after apology, and the rest of the riders quickly threw themselves into the hug as well, Snotlout could've sworn he saw Hiccup blink tears away too, but he was probably going crazy, Hiccup, as they all knew, didn't cry.

"Snotlout we-I am so sorry," Hiccup started after they broke apart slightly, "I shouldn't have been so tough on you after those missions, I should have noticed-" Astrid cut him off, "And I was just...tired, and stressed, and I couldn't stop myself, I'm sorry, you are not even a little bit worthless, Snotlout."

"And I, my dear Snotty man, am the most sorry," Tuffnut, to no ones surprise had started to make a production out of his apology, "For I was too harsh on thee, and I am so, so regretful," he threw himself at Snotlout with a loud cry, clinging to him and wailing, his sister prying him away, "I too, am sorry," She started playing along with her brother, but her shoulders dropped, "I was being a muttonhead, I'm so sorry, Snotlout."

Fishlegs, who hadn't let go of his embrace on Snotlout, mumbled another "I'm sorry," before finally letting him go.

Snotlout was still trembling slightly, eyes puffy, but he managed to get "It's okay," out, and rested his head against Hookfang gently.

"Maybe we should go back to the Edge, we can leave tomorrow instead, and it's a shorter flight there than all the way back to Berk," Hiccup suggested, which was met with agreements, and then, "Snotlout will fly with me and my Meatlug," Fishlegs volunteered when Snotlouts shaky legs couldn't make it to sit on Hookfang.

The riders eventually touched down on the Edge, none of them straying far from Snotlout, and when it was suggested to sleep in the dome overnight, they all agreed readily, setting up close to each other, and when the dragons settled down with them, they wound up practically touching anyway, and Fishlegs never quite left Snotlout's side, keeping a hand rested on his bicep as they slept.

Chapter Text

Hiccup was getting tired of this, he had truly thought that he and the dragon riders had gotten away this time, Snotlout and the twins whooping and punching the air as they made their glorious escape, and Hiccup was about to join them, the feeling of victory was rising in his chest, but, of course, things couldn't be so easy when dealing with Viggo Grimborn.

Astrid's call for him to look out came too late, the netting and chains that hit him from all sides and began dragging him down towards the ships, "Hiccup!" Astrid shouted as she dove for him, "Astrid, no! leave!" Hiccup yelled, Stormfly froze in midair, Astrid still fighting to get her dragon to follow Hiccup and Toothless, but to no use, Hiccup was too close to the ships for the other riders to be able to save him.

The hardwood floors of the ship never felt so bad, as Hiccup watched his friends fly away, looking back over their shoulders in concern and what he assumed was regret, but it was too late now anyway, besides, Hiccup and Toothless had fought themselves out of worse.

Hiccup had already begun to formulate his escape plan, but when the soft footsteps of Viggo Grimborn cut into his swirling thoughts, he sighed and gave up his plotting for the time being, as he looked up from where he knelt, covered in a net, and with Toothless still trying to thrash his way out of the dragon proof chains and the muzzle that the hunters had wrestled onto him, he watched as Viggo waved off his hunters, telling them to disperse.

"Well, well, my dear Hiccup," Viggo smiled in that aggravating way that he did, Hiccup snarling back at him, "What do you want from me, Viggo?" he spat it out, and Viggo had the audacity to laugh.

"What makes you think I want something, hm?" The head dragon hunter sounded like he was teasing the younger boy, and Hiccup laughed sarcastically, "What else was the point of that attack? on the island of Deadly Nadders closest to the Edge? Just...because?" his enemy seemed to be enjoying this, having Hiccup so frazzled and upset.

"Because, Hiccup," Viggo paused to place the blade of his sword under Hiccup's chin to tilt his head up, "I will be honest, I did want something. and I knew that you," the evil smirk floating over his mouth made Hiccups stomach turn, "Could help me with it."

Hiccup was dragged away from Toothless, the dragon panicking against his binds, screeching as best he could with the muzzle still clamping his mouth shut, the sound of his best friend in such pain making him scream out for him, "No-!" but to no use, as Viggo's men forced their hands over the future chief's mouth and hauled him away.

The cell he was thrown into was oddly nice, with a bed and table, there was even food in a basket by the grated door, which was...odd, he thought, why would Viggo want him to have any such luxuries? It must be poisoned, or rotten, something had to be wrong with it, and why was this cell already prepared? was Viggo so confident that Hiccup would be captured?

Viggo's intentions soon became clear, "You are the only person I've ever met with a mind to rival my own," his accent was so oddly captivating, but it only made Hiccup's distaste for him grow, "So?" and Viggo had the audacity to laugh, "So? Hiccup, Hiccup, Hiccup...where are you? where are your elegant words and snappy comebacks?" the hunter tossed Hiccup into the bed, smile still playing on his face.

"I," Viggo drawled his words out, teasing the boy who was watching him pace in fear, "Want you." Hiccup sat, waiting for him to finish his sentence, and horror dawned upon him when he realized that was it. Viggo was done talking, and Hiccup wanted to throw up.

Hiccup decided there and then that he would fight his way out of this one, Viggo wouldn't...take him. He almost blushed as he thought, 'that's Astrid's job,' and he watched, fighting off the bile rising in his throat.

"No," Hiccup finally spoke, backing up until his back was against the wall, "No, you can't...please, no," He cursed himself for how pitiful his voice sounded, and why did he plead? He should've stood firm, instead, he felt as small as he did when he was small and his father would yell at him for being too...'Hiccup-y'.

Viggo looked over the younger man, smirking, "I will have my way with you, my dear Hiccup," the nickname never sat right with Hiccup, and now it made him want to rip his ears off.

But Viggo eventually left, telling Hiccup to rest up and to eat. "Food's not poisoned, Hiccup, you may eat, I promise you that it is safe."

Hiccup would do anything but sleep that night, shaking in the bed, staring at the food as his stomach ate away at him, but he refused to give in to anything Viggo told him to do, he needed to get out, to find Toothless, and to get home.

The morning was awful, as Viggo was the first person to visit him in the cell, and as he gazed upon the dark circles under Hiccup's eyes, he said nothing but stroked under his chin, to which Hiccup jerked his head aggressively away, "Do not touch me."

Viggo only laughed, the sound splitting the cold morning air, and Hiccup flinched, inwardly cursing himself at showing that sort of weakness, "Oh, my dear, you cannot stop me," Viggo's rough hand found the base of Hiccup's neck, who choked abruptly as Viggo applied pressure, cutting his airflow briefly.

Hiccup knew that by now the other riders had formed a plan, and he was certain that they would soon be circling above, ready to take the ship down, and he was certain that Toothless was being tortured by now, hating to imagine what was happening to his best friend.

"Where's Toothless?" were the first words that tumbled out of his mouth once Viggo removed his hand, and the hunter sighed, "Always so worried about that dragon," he waved a hand "Rest easy, dear Hiccup, the Night Fury will not be harmed," the icy glare that was suddenly shot in Hiccup's direction felt like it pierced his soul, "Unless," Viggo seemed to take pleasure in toying with his words, "You misbehave."

The riders rescue mission was a success, Hiccup was extracted, Toothless seemed to be in good shape, although he had to be carried by Barf and Belch, as the hunters had taken away his tailfin, and Hiccup was shaking, with what appeared to be tear tracks on his cheeks as he sat behind Astrid, as far back as he could without falling off of the Deadly Nadder.

Astrid looked back at her boyfriend in concern, what could have possibly happened that he didn't want to touch her? Was he in that much pain? She shook her head, she would check him over for injuries back at the Edge, right now she had to focus on flying straight, and trying to ignore the soft sniffles coming from her betrothed.

Chapter Text

Hiccup couldn't shake the memories of being captured by Viggo, almost screaming every time one of his fellow dragon riders clapped him on the shoulder happily, welcoming him back and smiling, wanting to shrink and disappear when Astrid gave him a hug, but she seemed to sense his discomfort and backed off quickly, he tried to laugh it off awkwardly, but he knew that she knew him better than to believe it.

It wasn't long before the other riders realized something was wrong with their once fearless leader, for once it became apparent that he was dodging even Astrid's affection, the worry began to set in.

"What did they do to him?" Astrid wondered aloud as she watched Hiccup dodge around Tuffnuts' outstretched arm, Fishlegs shook his head, "I don't know, it's weird, huh?" he tossed another rock toward Meatlug, who ate it and wriggled happily, Astrid's brow furrowed as she watched her boyfriend scurry away, up to his hut.

"Yeah, it is," Snotlout joined the conversation, "I mean, not that I care or anything, but he's acting weird, weirder than usual, I mean," he bonked his shoulder against Ruffnut as she walked past, drawing her into the conversation, "We talkin' about Hiccup?" she asked "Because that guy," a pause as she adjusted her helmet, "Is acting super odd," Tuffnut popped up next to her, as he does sometimes, "Yeah, our little Hiccup is acting justtt like our Uncle Aelffrith," Ruffnut nodded wisely, "Oh yeah, that guy has some serious problems."

The twins launched into one of their crazy stories surrounding their uncle, but Astrid tuned them out eventually, although she may ask Ruffnut to tell her the story later, as it sounded interesting enough.

Fishlegs shook his head, "I truly don't think that any of that happened to Hiccup, guys," Ruff and Tuff stared at him disbelievingly, "Well no duh, Fishy, just tryin' to lighten the mood," Tuff tsked and shook his head, "Guys, we don't need to lighten the mood," Astrid tried to remain calm as her worry bubbled under her skin, "We need to figure out what's wrong with Hiccup, with our friend."

The next week proved difficult for Astrid as Hiccup dodged all physical contact and avoided most conversations, save for "Yeah, I ate." and "I'm all good, don't worry."

But for Hiccup, each waking moment was hell, the hours spent with Viggo swirling endlessly in his mind, unable to forget them, and all he wanted to do was to tell someone, but he couldn't. He couldn't tell any of the other dragon riders, couldn't let them know what had happened to him, how he couldn't stop it, he felt so, so pathetic, so weak, so...used.

It was the end of the week, and Hiccup thought he was in the clear, he had avoided his friends all week, and he exhaled in relief as his door closed behind him, stroking Toothless's neck gently, "Alright, bud, let's get some rest, yeah?" Astrid cleared her throat, "Hiccup?"

She felt awful as he flinched aggressively and knocked into a wall, the terror in her eyes making her want to leave, but she hopped off of the bed she was sitting on, "Hiccup, I need to talk to you," her boyfriend recoiled as she approached, making her freeze in her tracks.

"T-talk? about...about what?" Hiccup stuttered, avoiding eye contact, "About you, Hiccup," she took a few steps back, he seemed to relax a bit at that, "Wh-what about me?" he seemed very interested in Toothless, but then again, when was he not.

"Hiccup, ever since you got back you've been acting...weird," Astrid said softly, eyes searching his face, scanning the little scar on his chin, "Everyone noticed," he shrank, "E-everyone?"

"How could we not?" Astrid sat down on a chest, allowing Hiccup to make his way to his own bed, accompanied by Toothless, "You're our best friend, Hiccup, we know you," he sighed, wishing he was anywhere but having this conversation.

"Look, if you don't want to talk, it's okay," The blonde couldn't tear her eyes away from him, "I'll drop it," Hiccup shook his head, "I-I want to tell you, I swear, but I...can't do it," He squeezed his eyes to stop the tears, but Astrid figured he might as well be squeezing her heart.

She had asked him why, and he shook his head back, a hand raising to his mouth to muffle his sobs, and wheels started to turn in her head, she remembered a cousin of hers who had acted very similar to Hiccup after she was...oh, no, Astrid gasped suddenly, making Toothless warble worriedly, and Hiccup to look up, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"Hiccup..." Astrid started, and Hiccup knew she had figured it out, "Did Viggo...touch you?" the broken nod made her hands itch to strangle the life out of Viggo Grimborn, "L-lot more than just...touch," his voice cracked, and Astrid seriously considered what Viggos' scull would look like as a purse.

"Oh...Hiccup, so that's why..." She didn't finish, her boyfriend nodded again, "I'm sorry, Astrid," she reached out uncertainly, and he very slowly placed his hand in hers, allowing her to rub soft circles into the back of it, "Sorry for what?" she asked quietly, "I-I...I don't know, because we-uh," he swallowed, hard, holding her hand felt...good, he thought.

"We're...uh-I don't know, I thought you'd be...mad?" He got it out eventually, and she quickly wiped her own eyes, she needed to be strong for him right now, "I'm not mad, Hiccup, not at you, anyway. At Viggo," he jumped at the name, and she apologized, "At him, yes. but never at you, okay?"

Hiccup nodded, not entirely believing her, "Okay," they sat together in silence for a while, still holding hands, Astrid still rubbing little circles onto his hand, Toothless had curled into a ball next to them, Hiccup broke the silence eventually, "Hey, Astrid?" she blinked hard, her boyfriend coming back into focus, "Can you-uh..." he blushed a little, "Can you hug me?"

She could've cried as she obeyed the request, careful to not hold him too tight, but finally having him back in her arms felt so right.

"Stay tonight?" Hiccup asked quietly.

"Yeah, of course."

"Thank you, for everything."

Chapter Text

Now, Tuffnut Thorston was a lot of things, brilliant? yes, insane? yup, a little stupid? probably, loyal? as hell, brave? yeah, you have the right Viking. What was he not? homesick, or that's what he was telling himself.

It started as a little pang in his chest as he and his sister mounted their respective sides of Barf and Belch and flew away from Berk, the gang had gone back for a routine visit to check on their families and such, and he found it hard to tear himself away from his mother's warm embrace.

Ruffnut had definitely noticed his reluctance to return to the Edge when he didn't participate in her goofing around as much as he usually did, but she didn't say anything about the matter, instead engaging herself in conversation with Fishlegs.

Upon their arrival back to the Edge, Tuffnut hastily picked up Chicken, "Chicken! I must regale you with stories of my departure," he glanced at Ruffnut, who seemed to think that his attitude on the way home was gone, and as he walked away he made sure to talk extra loud to make sure she wasn't worried.

He flopped onto his bed with a grunt, letting his helmet clatter loudly on the floor, which made Chicken bawk indignantly, "Sorry, Chicken," he sighed, patting her head, which made it bob in a way that would have usually made him giggle, but he just exhaled sadly, "I wish we had stayed on Berk longer," his eyes widened suddenly "Not that I don't miss you when I'm gone! But I miss my mom, and all of Berk..." they hadn't been on Berk longer than a day before leaving again, tearing Tuffnut away from the idea of having his mother's fresh-cooked yak stew for dinner.

Ruffnut had come to check on him after a while of laying there, "Heya bro, all good?" to which he had nodded, "Yep! I'm just tired, no worries, sis," she smiled "You wanna come to mess with Snotlout? I have this idea and-" Tuff cut her off there, "I-I'm really tired, Ruff, tomorrow though, for sure," now he had done it, she knew something was wrong the second that he didn't wanna mess with their best friends.

"He didn't wanna mess with Snotlout!" Ruffnut exclaimed, waving her hands around "Guys, there's something wrong," the other riders frowned, "That is weird, and he's not here for dinner..." Hiccup puzzled, "I-I made his favourite too! Yak stew!" Fishlegs sighed, which made thoughts click into place for Ruffnut.

"Our mom was makin' yak stew, too," Ruff said, frowning over her bowl, "I wonder if he wanted to stay for dinner or somethin', he's been talkin' a lot about home recently," she shrugged, "I'll go check on him again." she exited the Clubhouse, abandoning her food, which made Fishlegs sigh unhappily.

"Hey, Tuff," She pushed into their hut, "You didn't show up for dinner, I got worried," her brother barely lifted his head to look at her, "I'm fine, Ruff, don't worry," he waved it off, but she pressed further, "Fishlegs made yak stew, your favourite!" and Tuffnut sat up to look at her, crossing his arms, "It's not the same, Ruff!" he sighed, reaching to help Chicken up onto his bed.

"I miss moms stew, I very much appreciate Fishlegs' cooking, but it's not the same," he sighed, avoiding his sister's eyes, "I don't know, sis! I miss Berk, I wanted to stay longer today, but...ugh! we can never do what I want to do! it's always...the others," Ruffnut patted his shoulder sympathetically, "I know, Tuff," she sat next to her brother, her other half, "But we're dragon riders now, we made our choice, and Berk...Berk will always be there," she smiled at Tuffnut, "You and I should head back in a few days, catch up with mom properly, eat some real yak stew."

Tuffnut cracked into his signature grin, "Sounds good to me," the throbbing in his chest was still present, but numbed slightly in the familiar presence of his sister, "Now, what was your idea with Snotlout?" there he was, Ruffnut thought, her brother was back.

Chapter Text

Fishlegs Ingerman was known to be more sensitive than his friends, and that was usually okay with him, he didn't particularly want to be scary and tough, but at this moment, he wished to all the gods above that he was a little less sensitive, that maybe Thor Bonecrusher could be scared out of him, but the whizzing of arrows past his poor little Meatlug didn't cease, and as Hiccup yelled at him to get out, his helmet, the Ingerman family helmet, the one that was given to him when he came of age, was knocked off his head, plummeting into the sea, and he had no choice besides joining his friends in a retreat.

He sighed as he flopped in his bed, Meatlug growling sympathetically, sensing the sadness rolling off her friend in waves, nudging his hand with her nose and trying to initiate a game of throw-Fighlegs'-stuff, but he waved her off, "Sorry, girl," he found himself saying, "I just wanna lay here for a while." his dragon wriggled to show that it was okay and laid her head on his stomach.

"Man, losing that helmet must suck," Ruffnut commented offhandedly to her brother as the two of them tossed a rock back and forth, "That it would, sister nut," Tuffnut said, "Which is why my helmet is too small! keeps it on my noggin," he knocked on his helmet pointedly, "Very smart, brother nut."

As she and her twin continued their little game of catch, Ruffnut let her mind wander, which Hiccup said was a hazard, but she knew Fishlegs pretty well, Hel, she married him, only for about a day, but still.

Eventually, she told Tuff that she was going for a walk and headed over to Fishlegs' hut, he raised his head in defeat as she entered without knocking, "Ruff, I'm really not in the mood to get teased, or 'Loki'd', so please, don't try," she shook her head, "I'm not here to make your life miserable, not now at least." she crossed the room in a few short strides, plopping herself down on the foot of his bed.

"So, Fishy," Ruff kicked her legs around, she was physically incapable of sitting still, something Fishlegs found a little endearing, "What's got you all mopey and stuff?" she already knew, of course, but wanted to hear it from his mouth.

"I-I lost my helmet on that run," Fishlegs started, his signature stutter made Ruffnut smile softly, "I know it-it sounds stupid, we-we saved so many dragons! but it's my Ingerman family helmet, and-and it means a lot to me!" his voice raised to be a bit squeaky, but Ruffnut didn't mind, she nodded, "You know, Tuff and I once lost our plush sheep," she offered a story, "And we cried about it for weeks! it was a gift from our grandma," but Fishlegs sighed, "You guys were kids though! it's different."

Ruffnut decided not to tell him that this was in fact earlier that same year, deciding to save her and Tuffnut that dignity, "Fishy, my point is, you can be upset about losing something important!" she reached to pat him on the shoulder, and Fishlegs leaned into her touch.

He sighed, "Yeah-yeah, I know you're right but, I don't know!" he wailed, "That-that helmet means a lot to my family!" he flopped back into his pillow, Meatlug growled in concern for her friend, and Ruffnut echoed that concern in a little exhale.

"Okay, Fishlegs. I can see that I won't be winning this, but you gotta understand that your family won't be mad, you're a hero, Fishy," Ruffnut sighed, falling back so that only her legs dangled off the bed, "Thanks, Ruff," her friend's voice wavered a little, so she offered a hand to him, he took it into his much larger one, letting her squeeze his hand reassuringly.

"Hey, what're ex-wives for?" Ruff joked, Fishlegs laughed sharply, caught off guard, "Oh my Thor, Ruffnut!" he sat up to look down at her grinning from her place on the bed, starting to laugh a little as Fishlegs' disbelieving face came into her field of view.

Ruffnut sat up to face him eye to eye, her laughter softening a bit, "Sorry, Fishy, I had to say it, you know I did," and Fishlegs nodded, "You-you had the chance, you had to take it, obviously," he gave her a quick bonk on the shoulder, "Th-thanks, Ruff, you really did make me feel better."

Meatlug put her head between them, exhaling, her eyes practically begging for attention, and Fishlegs was quick to take her up on that, hugging her as she snorted and began doing her happy wiggle, Ruffnut letting out a guffaw when the dragon threw her friend off the bed.

She sat for a while comfortably, watching her closest friend, don't tell Tuffnut, and his dragon roll around happily, knocking over a few tables in the process, and once Meatlug was properly tired out, plunking herself in a corner and promptly falling asleep, Fishlegs joined her back on the bed, sitting next to her, close enough that their legs touched.

"Hey, Ruff?" he looked over at her, her braids on the sides of her head had started falling out, and she turned her head away from Meatlug, "Yeah?" he patted her knee, a little awkwardly, but the idea was there, "I couldn't have asked for a better ex-wife."

She sat for a second, stunned, before throwing herself into him in a laughing fit, the lost helmet long forgotten by this point, as the two of them giggled together, and when the horn signaling that dinner was about to start, they reluctantly got up, still laughing a little as they crossed to the door.

Fishlegs hesitated before leaving his hut, looking a little uncomfortable before he pulled Ruffnut into a bone-crushing hug, "Oof-Fishlegs!" she complained, but relaxed and returned the hug after a moment, swearing to herself that the other riders would never know that she could, in fact, be this calm and...non-destructive, she had a reputation, after all.

"Thanks again, ex-wife." Fishlegs put her down, and the two of them headed off to dinner, where they could already hear Tuffnut and Snotlout yelling at each other.

Chapter Text

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III did not like the cold, he had grown up a very, very small boy, and the freezing temperatures in Berk often left him chilled to the bone and purple-lipped, and now, as he and his fellow riders rode through a wicked winter storm he felt like he had when he was still a little boy, and he could barely see his friends, much less hear them.

To make things worse than when he was a kid, his leg, his metal leg, was freezing into his skin, the nails that held the actual metal piece into the wood felt like they were burning his skin, opposite of burning, actually, but every place that metal was touching him was searing, he could only imagine what his friends who wore helmets were feeling.

Finally, Astrid rode close enough to him to scream for him to follow her to land, she had spotted a cave to wait out the storm, and when Hiccup tried to get off of Toothless' back his fake leg gave out under him, the stump of his leg was completely frozen.

"Woah, H!" Tuffnut grabbed him under the arm to hoist him back up, "Hiccup, you okay?" Astrid walked over from where she was de-tacking Stormfly, the auburn-haired boy nodded quickly, "Yeah, I'm all good, my leg is...frozen," he hopped a little as Tuffnut shifted his weight, "Thanks, Tuff," he added appreciatively, the addressed Thorston ruffled his hair annoyingly, "Yeah, yeah, all good, my fine, frozen-legged fellow."

"Hiccup?" Fishlegs' brow was furrowed, "Maybe-maybe you should take off the leg? the metal is probably making the cold worse," Hiccup nodded, "It is, thanks, Fishlegs," he removed the leg, his friends were pretty used to seeing him without his peg-leg, but it still left a feeling of pride in the other riders that he was comfortable enough to take it off in front of them.

Tuffnut helped him hop to sit against the wall, Hiccup quickly recoiled from the cold stone, starting to shiver more aggressively.

Toothless was quick to curl his body around his rider, the storm growing ever worse outside the entrance to the cave, the rest of the riders quickly falling victim to the cold as well, their own dragons creating a little circle for them to sit in, Snotlout even allowing Tuff and Ruff to 'Thorston Sandwich' him this time.

Hiccup could no longer feel any part of his leg, the numbness felt like it was gnawing away at what was left, Astrid finally shuffled closer to him to absorb what little body heat he had left, frowning at his cold skin, "Hiccup, you're freezing," Hiccup allowed himself a sarcastic laugh, "Good observation, Astrid! we're all freezing here!" Ruffnut rolled her eyes from where she was clung to Snotlout, who seemed very unhappy with his situation.

"No, she-she's right, he's got no heat coming off of him," Fishlegs said, hand resting on Hiccup, who frowned, "Thanks for the diagnosis, guys. I am cold," he raised an eyebrow, "I've always been cold, its why I don't usually go out in devastating winter," his friends all 'oohed' "I always just thought you didn't wanna shovel snow," Snotlout shrugged, "But I guess it makes sense, you are...were pretty runty."

"Uh, Hiccup?" Fishlegs interjected, "I'm actually pretty worried about your leg," it was then that Hiccup realized that Fishlegs had been prodding around at the stump, the blond boys' brow even more furrowed as he examined it, removing the sock that covered the severed part and gasping at the discoloured skin, blotches of purple beginning to spread over it.

"Oh, gross," Tuffnut commented, faking a gagging sound and earning a smack from Astrid, "Shut up, Tuff," Snotlout added, shaking Tuff off of his arm, and Hiccup closed his eyes to avoid looking at his own leg.

Fishlegs quickly wrapped the leg up, letting Hiccup curl his legs up into his chest to attempt to keep the warmth in, and Astrid quickly wrapped an arm around him, the other riders, and their dragons shuffling closer.

The storm raged for hours, Hiccup only getting colder, the other riders quickly stripping off their helmets and whatever other metal touched their skin, everywhere it had been in contact turned red and stuck a little as they removed it.

Finally, the snow outside stopped, and the riders stood up to stretch and mount their dragons, but Hiccup was still proving to be an issue as his leg was frozen solid, Astrid helped him to mount Stormfly, and she would ride Toothless to the Edge.

Fishlegs had everyone sit in warm water once returned to the Edge, he himself had not gotten as cold as the rest of them, his larger body allowing him to store and keep more heat, so the only parts of him that had gotten cold were his toes and a few spots on his arms, so he turned his attention to Hiccup's leg.

The leg was turning darker, as it started thawing there were little blisters popping up, full of blood, parts of the skin turning white and a little waxy, Fishlegs wrapping bandages soaked in hot water around it and changing them every so often.

Hiccup yelped when he first regained feeling in the leg, it felt like someone was stabbing it repetitively, almost like it had when he first lost it, and Astrid quickly removed herself from the large tub that she and the rest of the riders had been sitting in to come and hold his hand, hair dripping all over.

Fishlegs finally stopped, wrapping the leg tightly in bandages and patting Hiccup's knee, "That's the best I can do, sorry, Hiccup," he pursed his lips as he looked at his friend's face, which was screwed up in pain, but Hiccup just waved it off, "Not your fault, Fishlegs, don't worry."

The pain didn't go away until the next day, even then it was a dull throb, and the skin was...ugly, to say the least, but he did appreciate that Astrid seemed a little extra touchy and caring with him.

Chapter Text

Snotlout was running, cold sweat dripping down the back of his neck, Hookfang was ablaze as he trampled trees chasing his rider, correction, ex-rider, Snotlout had finally pushed the dragon over the edge, his obnoxious personality and bossy tendencies had driven his best friend away, worse, they had turned him on Snotlout.

To make things worse, his ex-best friend was mounted by none other than his father, screaming insults and shaking his ax, "You're a disgrace to the Jorgenson name!" words cutting deep into Snotlout's skin as he kept running, and then, suddenly he was falling, hitting rocks on the way down, splashing into ice-cold water as the bottom.

He rose to the surface, gasping and choking, Hookfang's claws outstretched to grab him, digging into his shoulder blades, blood bubbling to the surface as he screamed, "Man up, boyo," his father spat on him, Hookfang making a laughing sound.

They dropped Snotlout on the ground, letting him smash his face into the rocks before Hookfang dropped on top of him, crushing him back into the ground with a groan, his father dismounted the dragon, cracking a belt-where'd he get a belt?-in his hands, Snotlout flinching as childhood memories came back.

His father had raised the belt, ready to whip it across his son's face, when Snotlout gasped and sat up aggressively, Hookfang looking at him inquisitively as the rider tried to wipe his face of sweat, hands shaking.

Hookfang pressed his face into Snotlout's stomach reassuringly as his friend regained control of his own breathing, "I'm okay, Hooky," he stroked his nose, the Nightmare snorting softly against his hand, "Just-uh, just a bad dream," he offered a shaky smile, "Whaddayou say we go for a fly?" Snotlout offered, and the dragon looked as excited as a dragon could.

They had barely made it out of Snotlouts hut before the boy yelped, Tuffnut popping up in his vision suddenly, "Heya, S, whatcha doing awake?" he fell off of the railing he had been dangling upside down on, springing to his feet, his eyes lost a little of their playful sparkle when he saw how clammy and pale Snotlout looked, "Uh, Snotty, you okay?"

"Yeah, 'course I am, Tuff," Snotlout gave his best shot at one of his signature smirks, but it crumbled off his face quickly, his friend gave him an unimpressed look, "I'm not that dumb, Snotman," he frowned, "What's up? Are you sick? Being haunted by the ghosts of your past mistakes? Nightmare?" Tuff rattled off, Snotlout shrugged, "Something like that," and his friend snapped his fingers "Suffering from the old P-T-S-D?" he emphasized each individual letter, doing a little dance as he said it.

Snotlout stared at him blankly, and Tuffnut sighed, "Must I explain everything?" he changed his voice to have a mock-accent, sounding more 'professional', "PTSD or post-traumatic stress disorder is a mental health condition triggered by living or witnessing traumatic events," he winked at Snotlout, "And you, my fine fellow, seem to be exhibiting some of the symptoms."

They walked together for a while, Tuffnut babbling on and on, and Snotlout was, for the first time, not bothered by his rambling.

Tuffnut finally took a reath, stopping in his tracks and putting an arm out to stop Snotlout, "Okay, Snotlout. Can I...help...you?" he tried the word out, never having said those words to Snotlout, but he looked so genuine as he searched Snotlouts face, eyes reflecting the moon.

Snotlout sighed, "I don't know, Tuff," he averted his gaze, looking at Hookfang, who was playing with half of Barf and Belch, the other head-Barf, or was it Belch? he could never tell, was fast asleep.

Tuffnut shrugged, plopping himself down on the boardwalk, "I almost never know things, Snotty," he patted the ground next to him, Snotlout sitting down beside his friend, "But what I do know? You can't just keep stuff like...whatever you dreamed about inside forever, I mean, I have Ruff and Chicken, but I've never heard you talk about any of...anything."

The two of them sat for a few minutes, feet dangling off the edge before Snotlout finally caved, "Alright, Tuff. You win," his friend brightened up a little, shuffling to look him in the eye, "I love winning! so, talk," he spread his hands open invitingly.

"Okay, so, uh..." Snotlout swallowed hard, "I had a-uh...nightmare, right?" he fidgeted with his fingers, trying to avoid any eye contact, "About?" Tuff pressed a little, knocking their shoulders together gently, "About, uh...I don't really know. But, um, Hookfang was there but he was...chasing me, and uh-" he blinked, swallowing again, "My dad was riding him? and he was...insulting me and-this doesn't sound that bad saying it out loud," he ducked his head, Tuffnut shaking his aggressively, "Nono, S, it does, you can keep talking, if you want, anyway..."

Snotlout finished his story, shaking almost as badly as he had when he had first woken up, although this time he didn't know if it was from re-living the dream or from actually talking about his emotions out loud.

Tuffnut frowned at him, "I am going to end your father's life," he pounded a fist into his palm, "Like, actually, he's dead," Snotlout giggled at that, punching Tuff in the shoulder lightly, "Thanks, Tuff. I, uh-app-appreciate it," the blond boy only smiled, "That's what friends are for, Snotman!"

The sun was rising and the two of them were still on the boardwalk, although they were no longer awake, chests rising and falling, and somehow they had tangled their limbs together in their sleep, which would lead to much teasing at breakfast after Astrid and Ruffnut found them together, they had been searching for Tuffnut as he wasn't in the twins' hut.

Although no amount of teasing could make either boy regret their night out, especially Snotlout, who had never actually talked about his emotions to anyone besides Hookfang, and he genuinely hoped that he and Tuffnut might have another late-night talk about their emotions, and, he thought, he wouldn't hate it if they ended up fast asleep and tangled together again.

Chapter Text

The dragon riders were preparing to do a tour of the Edge, most of Berk was on their way to see how their favourite young Vikings were living, and this visit had to go well, or else the riders would lose a fair amount of respect and their standing in the Berkian hierarchy.

This meant that Snotlout was whirling around the Edge in a panic, shouting orders in gibberish at anyone who crossed paths with him, he had gotten wind that his father, Spitelout, was amongst those coming, even though he had previously been to the Edge.

"Should we...help him?" Astrid put the pile of food preparations down on the table in the middle of the Clubhouse, watching Snotlout run past the door back and forth, seemingly moving a pile of logs from one side to the other.

"Help him? he's a genius!" Tuffnut exclaimed, "That log pile was totally throwing off the symmetry of the Clubhouse!" Ruffnut nodded, "You're right, bro, ol' Snotty has an eye for the aesthetics."

Hiccup sighed, shaking his head, "He's like this every time Spitelout is close," he helped Fishlegs move more chairs around a spare table for their guests, "Yeah-yeah, it's weird, isn't it?" Fishlegs grunted as he set the last of the chairs down.

"I can see them! I can see them, oh gods, oh gods!" Snotlout ran into the Clubhouse, attempting to enter nonchalantly, his shoulders dropping when he saw his friends looking at him worriedly, "It's fine, guys! I'm just excited, ya know, to show my dad the Edge," he laughed it off awkwardly before turning to watch the chief touch down on Scullcrusher.

"Hey, dad!" Hiccup caught a bag Stoick threw at him, making an 'oof' sound as it hit his chest, "That's a gift, from Berk," Stoick stated, "Uh, thanks?" the leader of the dragon riders was quick to begin ushering people into the Clubhouse, beginning to explain the layout of the Edge and welcoming the Berkians to their home.

Spitelout landed on the platform last, dismounting Kingstail with a heavy thud and walking confidently to his son, "Hello, boyo!" Snotlout almost bought the happy tone in his father's voice, "Hi, dad," he said nervously, taking one of Spitelouts bags off of the Deadly Nadder, allowing the dragon to fly down to meet the rest of them by the stables.

The two of them entered the Clubhouse, Snotlout struggling under the weight of his father's bags and dumping them in a corner to join his friends at their table, separate from the other Berkians, besides the chief and Gobber, who most of the dragon riders considered family anyway.

But before Snotlout could take his place in the last chair available with the riders his father pushed him out of the way, "Go take a seat, boyo! I want to talk to the real dragon riders," he said pointedly, shoving Snotlout to go sit with the visitors, the boy grumbling under his breath as he took a seat.

The other riders looked in distaste as Spitelout stole their friend's seat, "Uh, that's Snotlout's seat," Astrid said, raising an eyebrow and pointing her-don't tell Chicken-chicken leg at the man, who laughed heartily, "Ah, lassie! wouldn't you rather sit with a real Viking anyway?" the riders exchanged looks, Fishlegs cleared his throat and stood, "Well, uh...I kind of want to talk to Snotlout, see ya guys!" it was not a secret to the dragon riders that Spitelout scared him.

Fishlegs scooted a chair in beside Snotlout, who brightened up, "Fishface! came to sit with a real man, huh?" Fishlegs only giggled and shrugged, "Sure, whatever you need to tell yourself, Snotlout," he patted his friend on the shoulder, pretending not to notice Spitelout staring angrily at the two of them.

The meal finished quickly, thank the gods, but now came the issue of bunking, Spitelout quickly claiming Snotlout's hut, loudly proclaiming that he would have it to himself, to which Snotlout protested equally as loudly, the Berkians gathering to watch family drama. (there's not much entertainment on Berk besides Spitelout being dramatic.)

"You can't kick me out of my house, dad!" Snotlout planted a firm foot, Hookfang had heard the commotion and flew to land behind his rider, showing his silent support.
"I can do whatever I want, boyo," Spitelout said, well, spitefully, "You've not got any power over me," he took an advancing step, Snotlout holding his ground as best he could, Astrid joining his side, "Ye never have had the courage to stand up to me, boyo. Yer barely a man, a sorry excuse for a Viking, ye don't deserve the hut, especially not with me, a real Viking, around," he spat, the crowd of Berkians 'ooh-ing' at that.

"Snotlout is twice the Viking you'll ever be," Astrid spat scathingly, she looked terrifying, blue eyes ablaze, Tuff and Ruff adding a "Yeah!" in support, they weren't great at this, but Snotlout appreciated the effort anyway.

Spitelout let out a guffaw, "Yeah, right, that wee thing?" he motioned to his son, doubling over in laughter, shutting up quickly when Stormfly's spine shot scattered around his feet.

"You are a visitor here, Spitelout, remember your place, if you can't, I suggest you get out." Hiccup crossed his arms, eyes narrowing, the riders had never heard him speak in such an angry way, control radiated from their leader in a way that made Tuffnut reconsider the way he felt about his friend. (The verdict was that he couldn't handle the power that would come with dating the son of a chief.)

Spitelout frowned, glancing around at his fellow Berkians, "Fine," he spat, staring at his son in a way that said 'this isn't over', and he spun on his heel to sleep in the stables with Kingstail.

"Thanks, guys," Snotlout rubbed the back of his neck, the rest of the riders clapping him on the shoulders before someone-Fishlegs? suggested a sunset flight before a long day of showing a bunch of violence-prone Vikings around their base, the other riders agreeing and racing to their own dragons, Tuff and Ruff pushing each other around on their way to Barf and Belch.

Chapter Text

Tuffnut was not the best at sleeping, his Uncle Gorstaag had suffered with insomnia for twenty-seven years, and he had a big-man feeling that he might've inherited that from him, this night was a little different than his usual restless churning, he had actually passed out quickly, the first few dreams he had were the name nonsensical whirling as usual, and then the nightmare hit.

Belch was desperately trying to flap his wings to keep flying, but his other head-other half-had been severed from him, the bloody stump of a neck flapping in the wind as they spiraled, but to Tuffnut the more horrifying thing was the lack of Ruffnut sitting on the said neck, her screams cut through his head, burning into his memory, and when he snapped to look toward the screaming he watched an arrow cut through her ribcage.

He woke up with a start, hands scraping into his scalp as he choked for air, quickly glancing to make sure Ruffnut was okay, and she was laying there in her bed and snoring softly, looking perfectly peaceful, which offered him a fair amount of relief, but still, he stumbled out of his cot and made his way toward the stables.

Barf and Belch had never looked so glorious as they slept, breathing out little puffs of gas and igniting it, he finally allowed himself to relax his muscles, clearly, everything was right on the Edge.

He sat on the ledge in front of the stables, head resting on his still-shaking hands as he gazed over the water, almost jumping out of his skin when a loud thud sounded behind him.

"Tuffnut?" Snotlout's voice cut through the night air, his friend ushered Hookfang away before plopping himself next to the Thorston, "You alright, Tuff?" his voice softened a little when he saw Tuffnut's pale face.

"Yeah, I'm all good, Snotty!" He forced a smile, punching Snotlout lightly, the other boy's brow furrowed, "No, see, the real Tuffnut would have just punched the Hel out of me, not some pansy-ass punch like that!" he shook his head "What's up, Tuff?"

Tuffnut sighed, shrugging dramatically, "I think I have ghosts in my head, Snotman," he stated, avoiding eye contact as best as he could, Snotlout made an exasperated sound, "There are no ghosts in your head, Tuffnut. What is actually up?"

"I, uh, had a nightmare, I guess?" Tuffnut caved quickly, "About?" Snotlout pressed, shuffling a little closer to his friend to place a reassuring hand on his knee, "Not a lot, but also everything I guess?"

He inhaled deeply, "It started just...Ruff and I flying, like usual, blowing shit up, you know, and then...I don't know, Barf's head got chopped off and the neck stump was just oozing blood into the air and," his voice cracked, wiping at his eyes quickly, "Just flapping there, like a kite in the wind, and then I realized that Ruff wasn't there anymore, and then I heard her scream, so I looked, right? and I watched her get...shot straight through the ribcage,"

"Aw, Tuffnut," Snotlout failed to find words, instead resorting to pulling Tuffnut into a bone-crushing hug, "That sounds...awful, I'm sorry,"

"It's fine, honestly, I mean...we all get some of the ol' night-o terror's, comes with the job," Tuffnut tried to shrug it off, wiping away one straggler tear, and Snotlout frowned, "I guess. But, not to sound too...Hiccup-y, we're a team, you know? You should've come directly to one of us, instead of wandering down to the stables alone."

"You do sound like Hiccup," Tuffnut teased a little, unable to resist the jab, "But thanks, Snotty. I appreciate the kind words," he let himself lean against his friend a little, whose eyes had begun to droop a little, "Yeah, no problem, Tuffnut. Dragon Rider's gotta stick together." he yawned, pulling Tuffnut down to lay down on the deck, Hookfang, who apparently did not return to his stable as he had been instructed to do, came to lay around them protectively.

"Thank you, Hookfang," Tuffnut patted his side, the warmth allowing him to realize just how cold it was outside, "Yeah, thanks, Hooky," Snotlout agreed, letting the dragon rest his head on his stomach.

They lay there in comfortable silence for a while, Tuffnut getting more and more tired, but never quite falling asleep, Snotlout noticed after a while, turning to look at him, "Alright, Tuff, it's not just a nightmare isn't it?"

Tuffnut didn't answer for a while, sighing heavily, "No, do you remember during the Midnight Sun, how Ruff and I were the last to start feeling effects?" to which Snotlout nodded, "I, like my Uncle Gorstaag, have insomnia. I can't...sleep good, ever." Tuffnut stumbled through his words, the lack of sleep getting to him a little.

"That...sucks," Snotlout said bluntly, evidently unable to come up with a better sentence, they had been out long enough for the sun to begin rising, and Tuff allowed a dry laugh, "Yeah, it does."

Miraculously, he passed out, the both of them remaining on the deck for the rest of the dragon riders to find together later that day.