Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Saying goodbye to a life that had only been yours for a year was a strange experience. Eret had been surrounded by dragons for a large amount of his life; he’d spent year after year capturing them, becoming the self-declared greatest dragon trapper alive, before having his opportunity to escape from Drago’s grasp. The last year of his life had been the happiest. Initially, he’d tried to avoid speaking unless spoken to, something extremely rare for him being the charismatic, self-centred person he’d become, but his fear of being rejected, hurt even by the people of Berk kept him quiet and obedient as soon as it was clear he would be staying. However, similarly to how rescued dragons were welcomed to the island, he was treated with predominantly a kindness he wasn’t used to, and he started to be himself again, but a better version. Living alongside dragons as equals had been an experience he’d never forget.

One of the hardest parts of the day they left, however, was not only saying goodbye to his new life, but watching others say goodbye to theirs. The blank expression Chief Hiccup had worn for the few days after, Valka flightless without her dragon, and the so unusual silence of Snotlout. 

He’d spent longer than he’d necessarily care to admit watching Snotlout for the first few days without the dragons. The lack of comments in his direction was almost unsettling considering how much of a constant it had become in Eret’s life. He’d never quite understood what was going on in that guy’s strange little head, but it could sometimes be entertaining, if a little annoying. Watching how he mourned over the loss of Hookfang brought a strange ache to Eret’s heart.

The Isle of New Berk was somber. The usual enthusiasm was replaced with grief, but they were vikings and regardless, they carried on. Hiccup had held a meeting for the council explaining that he wanted the island mapped. They had been sorted into two groups, Eret being with Tuffnut and Fishlegs, and the other group consisting of Snotlout, Astrid and Ruffnut. 

Eret’s group had been sent to cover the East of the island. Fishlegs was incharge of drawing out the map, while he pointed out all the nooks and crannies, including water and food supplies, and easily defensible places. Tuffnut was giving a dramatic reading of the book he was currently writing, ‘New Beginnings: a Viking’s Guide to Life after Dragons and Abandoning your Island of Seven Generations’. At first, Eret had been deeply disturbed by Ruffnut, understandably, and as he got to know Tuffnut, he’d had a pretty similar reaction, though for different reasons. However, as Ruffnut gave up on her pursuit of romance, Eret began to notice how smart the twins were, and how good of a team they made. While they disguised their genius with humor and silliness, it was still definitely there; whether it was their scientific explanation or philosophical thinking, writing abilities (no matter how strange their books were) or survival instincts, Eret had a lot of respect for the two of them. 

“There’s a cave over there,” began Eret, pointing to the left of them, “in an easily defensible space, close enough to the main village… could it be useful for storage and gold?”

Fishlegs’ eyes lit up. “That’s a good idea, we could store all the boats there until we’ve built the docks to avoid any rain damage!”

“Chapter Three: Find storage. The last thing you need when moving to a new island is to ruin all of your boats before you’ve built the docks!” exclaimed Tuffnut, writing down as he spoke. 

Eret turned back towards him in the tree he had climbed for a better vantage point, raising an eyebrow.

“Tuffnut, I just made that point. If you’re going to steal our ideas, at least give us credit!” he laughed lightly. 

Tuffnut narrowed his eyes. “Tip: give strong tall viking’s that could beat you in a fight credit where credit is due…” he added dramatically, making a note of that in his book as well.

Eret mock saluted.

Fishlegs had wandered over to a large lake, peering down at the others that surrounded it, leading up to the cliff edge.

“At least we have a good water supply. We could make a pulley system and a well to bring it back to the village, or I suppose we could make a stream leading closer…”

Tuffnut ran over, surveying the area with a keen eye. He pointed to one of the lakes. “This here, I claim as a bath for Chicken. And me, but mostly Chicken.”

Of course. Although…

“Actually, Tuff, that’s not a bad idea! We could section off an area, maybe the big lake over there, as a bathing area. It’s a better idea than just using the water from a well or whatever we decide to build to fill baths.” suggested Eret. 

Fishlegs squealed with excitement. “On the Edge, we found a type of plant that could keep water clean… maybe they have some on this island!”

Eret had heard vaguely of the Edge before. Apparently the six of them had moved away for a while and built their own temporary island. He wasn’t sure on many of the details, but it was brought up from time to time.

“And so the quest to new life continues with the lookout for magic plants that make water clean…” Tuffnut continued, as they carried on their map of the East side of the island.

Snotlout had not been impressed when his cousin had forced him to go map out the island. He was even less impressed when he was informed that he was not the leader of the group, and if there had to be a leader, it was Astrid. He was not impressed at the idea that Eret was most likely the leader of the other group, because why would anyone choose the guy they’d only know for a year when the option of himself was available; he was the cousin of the Chief, after all! After a few days of quiet and limited viking interaction, he felt he had a lot of complaining to catch up on. 

“And don’t get me started on Hiccup letting the dragons go. Do you know how much quicker it’d be to map out the stupid new island if I had Hookfang? A lot quicker. I can’t believe he made that decision without consulting the rest of us first! That should be a group decision , but as always, Hiccup gets to be in charge.” he ranted.

“Well, he is the Chief, so it’s kinda his job to boss people about.” Ruffnut pointed out, walking along a fallen down tree just ahead of Snotlout.

Astrid had been far ahead of them for most of the journey, scouting and mapping by herself. She’d been doing everything at very high speed since the dragons had left; that was just her way of expression. However, she had slowed down as Snotlout had moved his rant to the subject of the dragons, and gave him an uncharacteristically kind look. 

“Snotlout, I know you miss Hookfang. We all miss our dragons, and that’s okay. It was more of a two way decision for the dragons to go back to the Hidden World anyway; we were putting them in danger by keeping them here, and they were putting us in danger. It was just time to say goodbye.” she explained, placing a hand on his arm. 

Snotlout looked around the forest. "I know! I know, it's just... without Hookfang... it's all so quiet, now...". Being surrounded by nothing but trees and rocks allowed him to imagine they were back on the Edge, as if the last few years hadn’t happened. The dragons were still around, his Uncle, Chief Stoick was still alive, as was his mother, and he still had a home to go back to. 

“Uh, guys?” Ruffnut exclaimed, “You might want to put this giant hole on the map! People might fall in!”

He and Astrid both looked towards her voice to see her head sticking out of the ground, a grin plastered across it. The two of them couldn’t help but laugh for the first time in a while.

After a long day of mapping, walking, climbing and listening to Tuffnut narrate his book as he wrote it, Eret joined the rest of the Tribe for dinner by the fire. It was a cold, dark night, lit by only the twinkling stars and crackling fire. The warm, comforting glow engulfing the surrounding areas somehow only brought the attention back to their missing friends. 

He saw Snotlout sitting in the outskirts of the crowd looking rather glum. He made his way over. 

"Come to gawk at my sick new scars?" Snotlout asked sarcastically, not bothering to look at him.

“Well, I just came to see how the day went, but judging by the fresh scars on your arm, I’m going to say your exploration was either difficult, or you still haven’t figured out how to use cutlery.” Eret smirked in retaliation. Snotlout glared at him.

“I’ll have you know, my friends were in danger of being brutally killed by a wolf so I stepped up to save them.” he responded.

Eret raised an eyebrow. “Whatever you say. I think I’ll go find a more interesting conversation, if you don’t mind.”

“I never wanted you to start this one…” Snotlout muttered.

Eret rolled his eyes, however glanced back at the other man with a grin on his face as he walked towards the crowds.

Later, he found Astrid, and remembering his conversation with Snotlout, asked, “Has Snotlout been to see Gothi yet? Those scars didn’t look so good. Wolf claws, he said.”

Astrid laughed. “Wolf claws? No, he just fell in a bush because he was walking backwards like the muttonhead he is.”

Snotlout had walked past at that moment, and very dramatically yelled, “It was a very spiky bush, okay? It could have been poisonous!”

Eret didn’t stop laughing for a while.

Chapter Text

As the weeks went on, New Berk had started to become a much more functional place. A lot of people were still living in tents, however several houses had already been built, even if they hadn’t been properly furnished yet. Everyone in the Tribe was helping, whether it was planning, building, or cooking; even the kids had been joining in, collecting wood for the campfire and fish to eat. The roof of the new Great Hall was currently in the makings, and all in all, it was almost feeling like home.

One of the issues that New Berk posed was that the island itself was very tall, and without dragons, there was so far no way of getting down, which would soon become a problem. This issue was resolved with the strange idea of a rather large lift. Hiccup had designed a system that would allow boats to be lowered into the ocean and pulled back up when they were done. Although only a temporary solution to the overall issue of getting off the island, it was an efficient long term plan for the boats, because it would take half the village to carry one down a ramp. 

One notable mistake that had been made, as far as Snotlout was concerned, was putting Eret on the team that were creating said system. His constant chatter with the other vikings working on the project was limiting their working time, and he was not about to let his image be compromised because of this.

“Eret, a little less talking and a little more working. This - this thing, whatever it is, isn’t going to build itself!” he exclaimed commandingly. They had been working on the cliffside all morning, but even the bright day couldn’t stop Eret from messing up as usual. Unfortunately, that had caused Snotlout the need to constantly stop hammering nails into the pulley platform to complain, as he was doing now.

Eret didn’t bother to look up from his work, “Maybe if you spend less time complaining we’d be done quicker.” 

He marched over to Eret, holding his head high. “Who put you in charge?” he asked indignantly.

Eret smirked, “The Chief, actually.” 

Snotlout opened his mouth to give an amazing comeback, but when met with Eret's gaze, nothing came out. Something about the way Eret's brow creased, or the challenging glint in his eye, or the way his dark hair fell into his deep brown eyes... It was too much. 

He huffed a sigh and rolled his eyes. Snotlout was the king of comebacks, but this opponent was not worth the effort.

Later on, Snotlout stood watching Eret, still irritated at him, with his stupid, big muscles that were flexed while he was tying the rope while sitting on top of the tall, wooden pole they’d made, with his stupid hair flying into his stupid amber eyes. 

“You’re tying that wrong, in case you were wondering,” he remarked. Eret met him with a tired expression. Probably because he wasn’t strong enough to carry out this task. 

Eret jumped to the ground, and stood looking down at him, because he was so stupidly tall. 

“Have I really?” he huffed, which Snotlout took as a win.

“Yes, you are. Since I'm clearly the all-knowing-knot tier, I guess I could show you."

Snotlout climbed up the pole and tied the rope how it should have been done in the first place, feeling like he’d finally shown Eret who was boss. He looked down, smirking, surprised to see the man in question staring at him with an uncharacteristically soft expression, eyes sparkling, before jumping slightly and returning his face to a tired, yet impressed expression. 

“Okay, I never expected to have to say this, but you were right, Snotlout. Thanks, I suppose.” he admitted begrudgingly, before asking, “Where did you learn that knot?”

“My mother taught me. She’s really good with this kind of stuff.” he explained, starting to feel really warm, but it was probably just from the hard work he’d put in today. Obviously it had nothing to do with being complimented by Eret.

Eret smiled slightly. “Well then, maybe I should be thanking her instead!”

“She’s dead.”

Snotlout hated the reminder, and hated Eret for bringing it up, even if he knew that Eret wouldn’t necessarily have known that, even if he had been here for a year already. 

“Sorry.” Eret said, smile fading.

He simply shrugged.

By late afternoon, Snotlout had told Eret off a total of seven times, and was in a very bad mood. He stomped across the village until a hand touched his shoulder. He turned to yell at whoever it was, but saw it was Hiccup and merely went back to frowning.

“Everything okay there, Snotlout?” Hiccup asked cautiously. 

Snotlout sighed loudly. “It’s that stupid son of Eret, he’s driving me crazy, thinking he’s so much better than me just because he’s tall and pretty and everyone likes him!”

Hiccup tried and failed to not smile. 

“Well, if you’re going to side with him too, then this conversation is over!” Snotlout exclaimed, attempting to walk off.

“Snotlout, I’m not siding with him! How about we walk back to my tent and have a chat?” responded Hiccup.

“This is starting to look like it could work!” 

Eret turned away from his brooding on the cliffside to see Astrid checking out the day's work. 

“Yeah, well, it would be easier if Snotlout didn’t keep telling me I’m doing everything wrong all the time.” he replied, turning his head back to watch the sun start to set. Astrid sat down next to him, legs hanging down over the cliff.

“Snotlout’s just like that. He’s never been the best at showing any sort of affection, so he usually just ends up yelling at everyone. I do think the fact that he’s talking to you is probably a sign he doesn’t hate you as much as you think.” she shrugged.

Eret rolled his eyes.

They shared a comfortable silence for a while, before curiosity got the better of him.

“I didn’t know his mom died, I guess I just assumed I hadn’t met her yet.”

Astrid grimaced. “One of us probably should have told you that. He doesn’t like to talk about it but a few years back, while we were living at the Edge, she had a baby - have you met Adelaide? Anyway, it was a complicated birth and she passed away a few days later. I think Snotlout blames himself for not being there; they were very close. Spitelout was never a good father to him, and that’s why he’s so, well, Snotlout , I suppose. He made sure Adelaide was raised by his mom’s sister though, to avoid her having the same childhood he had.”

Eret thought for a while. He had met Adelaide before, but he’d assumed she was his cousin. It all made sense though.

“I think we’re very similar people, probably for similar reasons. I wish he didn’t hate me so much though, even though he’s pissing me off all the time, I really like h- spending time with him.”

If Astrid caught on to his change of wording, she didn’t say anything, but gave him a look of sympathy before turning her gaze back towards the horizon.

After another silence, he added, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, he’s a strange little man.”

That made Astrid laugh. “You’re not wrong there.”

“And then he tried to tell me I was making it wrong! The audacity! Just because he thinks he’s sooo perfect-”

Hiccup cut in, “Snotlout, do you realise how many comments you’ve made about him being ‘perfect’ and ‘strong’ and -”

It was Snotlout’s turn to interrupt, because he had heard enough.

“I do not like what you are trying to imply, you traitor of a cousin!” he exclaimed, walking off.

Hiccup was right, though. No matter how much Snotlout tried to convince himself that he hated that stupid son of an Eret, he couldn’t ignore the fluttery sensation in his chest everytime he thought about the other man, especially his arms, or his hair, or his beautiful amber eyes -

No, this had to stop, before Snotlout did something detrimental like fall in love with him.

It was disgusting to even think about.

He had known he was into guys as well as girls for a while, ever since the Thor Bonecrusher situation, but the thought of him having feelings for Eret? No thank you.

Eret stayed at the edge of the cliff until long after the glow of the sunset had disappeared as he reflected. It was true that Snotlout was extremely irritating but it was comforting to know that it might not be about him. He knew what it was like to grow up in a world like that. One where you never seemed to be good enough.

He definitely felt something for Snotlout that he’d never felt for anyone before and it scared him. But even if Snotlout didn’t hate him, Eret knew that his feelings would never be reciprocated. 

Both spent their night thinking of the other, and thinking that never, in a million years, would they be thinking the same as the other.

Chapter Text

“Chief, with all due respect, why are you doing this to me? Do you hate me?” Eret complained. A few days had passed without him having to communicate with Snotlout, which had suited him well, however, that morning he’d been told that he was to spend the day mapping out the rest of the island with the man in question.

Hiccup shook his head. “Eret, you’re my right hand man, you know that, but I need you and Snotlout to be getting on. Plus, I think you two will really hit it off one of these days!”

(What Eret didn’t know, of course, was that Hiccup and Astrid had been sharing about their conversations with Snotlout and Eret respectively and what he especially didn’t need to know was that they had been trying to find excuses to make them work together, alone, so that maybe one day they’d be able to admit their feelings.)

As he made his way over towards the forest north of the village, he cursed Hiccup Haddock and his personality that made it so difficult to want to argue against him. Snotlout was already waiting for him, and greeted him with an eye roll.

“That’s quite an unconventional way to say hello, but then again, it’s coming from you, I suppose.” he said in what he hoped was a nonchalant tone.

Snotlout whipped his head to face him. “And what is that supposed to mean?” he retorted.

Eret began walking into the forest, simply replying, “It’s just not surprising.”

The further into the forest they got, the less they could see for all the bushes and leaves obstructing their vision. After half an hour of painfully watching Eret try to make a map, he snatched the book and pen from his hands.

“Oi! What was that for?” Eret spat.

Snotlout rolled his eyes again. “Eret, that’s not how you make a map. Can you even write properly?”

Eret’s eyes flashed with rage, and Snotlout quickly changed his wording.

“That sounded better in my head. What I meant, in a nice way, was ‘have you ever been taught how to write’?” He corrected himself. The look in Eret’s eyes softened a little, but not completely. Snotlout took his silence to mean that he was correct, and said, “Here, watch me.”

He began redrawing Eret’s map, pointing out the mistakes he’d corrected, throwing in the occasional comment, at one point having to ask, “Eret, I literally cannot even read this, what were you trying to say?”
After a few minutes, he handed the book back to Eret, suggesting, “Here, you can have a go yourself now, if you like.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Eret huffed in response, not quite meeting Snotlout’s eye.

He raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, Snotlout. That’s really helpful, Snotlout!” Snotlout sarcastically responded, imitating Eret’s accent.

Eret glared at him. “Just drop it already!”

“Okay, okay!” Snotlout held up his hands in defeat. “If you wanted, I could help you learn how to write properly at some point.”

It had been a genuine offer, but regardless, Eret threw the book back into his hands and stormed off.

Hiccup was having several regrets about sending Eret and Snotlout into the forest together, alone. While he individually trusted them both with his life, he wasn’t sure he could trust them to not murder each other. He’d have gone with them but his chiefly duties had been keeping him busier than usual; losing the dragons and having to make sure an entire village gets built was a difficult combination. He was sure his dad would have known what to do. For starters, he wouldn’t have left their defensible spot in the Archipelago, but Hiccup knew they couldn’t have stayed there. He also probably wouldn’t have been hiding under a table when he became overwhelmed.

“Hiccup?” came the voice of his mother. It occurred to him that finding the Chief hiding under a table would be quite worrying, so he jumped up and dusted himself off. “Hey, Mom! How’s everything going with the Great Hall?” he asked, leaning against the table as if he hadn't just been underneath it.

Her eyes stared deeply into his soul; she really had the look of a dragon.

“Hiccup, you can’t do everything on your own. You know I’m here, and so is Astrid, and Gobber and the others…” she trailed off, watching as his eyes filled with tears.

“I know - I - I just wish that, y’know -” he started.

“...Your Father was here. I know. I miss him too," She said, her eyes round and tearful, too, "He was a good man, and-" She was interrupted by the sound of Hiccup's soft sobs, and on instinct, she pulled him into a tight hug. She held him there, in that silence, with only the sound of Hiccup's repressed sobs, until his breathing had slowed. Only then did she continue softly, "But you’re more similar than you’d think; he’d find it just as difficult, even if he didn’t show it. Son, you are doing better than you realise, and I’m proud of you!"

Hiccup sniffed, a weak smile cracking his face, “Before you make up your mind on that one, I may have sent Snotlout and Eret into the forest to finish the maps…alone” he added. His mother laughed.

“We all make mistakes!”

Eret knew that he should have responded better; Snotlout was genuinely trying to help him for once, but being reminded of his lack of writing or reading abilities made him feel like more of an outsider than ever. Instead of thanking him, he’d abandoned him to do all the work on his own and hidden away on a beach he’d found with a huge lake reflecting the grey clouds above.

Behind him, the bushes began rustling, and he jumped up on instinct, sensing danger. Evidently, his senses were a bit muddled up with all these strange emotions, because it was Snotlout who appeared. (Although, he supposed, danger? Snotlout? Fair.)

“Hey, Eret…" Snotlout said abashedly, eyes fixed to the ground. Eret didn't speak, which made him ramble, "Look, I didn’t mean to upset you back there, I just wanted to help to make up for being such an asshole these past few days -”

Eret interrupted him, sitting down again. “S’fine. Whatever.”

Snotlout gave him an indignant look.

“What?” Eret asked, trying and failing to keep the annoyance out of his tone.

“I did all the map for you, I come here to try to apologise, which, I’m sure anyone will tell you is rare, and you’re not even gonna let me finish my apology?” he responded, gradually raising his voice and walking down to the beach.

Well, two could play that game.

Eret stood up again. “Because nothing says apology like yelling! And, while we’re at it, if you weren’t such a self-centered asshole all the time, you wouldn’t owe so many apologies!” Until now, he hadn’t realised he’d been shouting.

“You wanna talk about being self-centered?” Snotlout roared as he stood before Eret, at his full height. Chest swelling as his breath quickened, Snotlout's eyes didn't leave Eret's. “You, Mr. 'Why wouldn’t everybody like me? I’m the best, As soon as I decide to be a good person I’ll just become everyone’s favourite and second in command and steal all of Snotlout’s friends because I’m so much better than everybody else!'" Eret cocked a brow at this, but let him continue. Something about the way Snotlout was so, so very close to him right now... it lit a flame under his skin. Hot, and raw, Eret's fists balled, but he let Snotlout continue, "You and your stupid hair and your stupid big muscles and your stupid pretty eyes and pretty face thinking it’ll be fun stealing my friends and taking over my every waking moment -”

And that's when Eret kissed him.

Snotlout had barely any time to realise that he’d said too much, or just how close he’d gotten to the other man, because he was cut off by Eret’s lip on his. This was another thing he had no time to process because within seconds Eret had pulled away and walked a few paces backwards.

Eret had just kissed him. Eret had just kissed him. Eret had just kissed him.

They simply stared into each other's eyes for a moment, or maybe an age. Snotlout didn’t doubt for a second that he could get lost in those eyes for eternity without sparing a thought for the world.

They both moved towards each other, and then their mouths crashed together. Snotlout ran his hands up Eret's neck, pulling him closer into desperate kisses. Resigned to standing on the tips of his toes, passionately kissing the man he hated most on the entire island, in any other moment, Snotlout would have thought himself ridiculous. He had to stop. He should stop.
He couldn't.
Not with Eret's firm hands, one holding Snotlout's hip against his own, the other under Snotlout's chin, closing the space between them. This... this felt right. Under his fury, his burning hatred, there was something else that stoked this flame. He wanted him. He needed Eret.
Feverishly, Snotlout ran his fingers through Eret's hair, breathing in his musk, it was sweet, with a hint of Snoggletog Spice. And when Eret's tongue began to slip into Snotlout's mouth, tiny dragons seemed to crackled in his chest. Judging by the quickening of Eret's breath, he must have felt it, too.

He kissed Eret with everything he had. Eventually, they both came up for air. After a few moments of catching his breath, fear began bubbling inside of him. He had to get away.

“Sorry, Eret.” he murmured quietly, before escaping from his grip and running towards the village.

Chapter Text

The following weeks were difficult, which was why Snotlout found himself sitting on a patch of grass just out of the village with his four year old sister Adelaide having a tea party. 

“There’s your drink, Snotty!” Adelaide explained happily after pouring some water into a very small cup. 

Snotlout picked up his cup, sticking out his pinky to be posh, and took a sip.

“Mmmm, well Leela, that might just be the best water I have ever had!” he reviewed dramatically. Leela had been her nickname since she had started talking, as that was what she had somehow gotten from trying to say Adelaide. 

Leela giggled. 

“I shall pour you some as well - I wouldn’t want you to miss out on the finest water ever to be tasted!” he exclaimed, pouring her some water too.

They drank their fine water in amongst outbreaks of giggles. Snotlout found that he was always happiest with his sister; she was the only one that never expected him to be anything other than himself.

He hadn’t spoken to Eret since the kiss. Snotlout had been going out of his way to avoid him, in fact. He was confused; he thought he was supposed to be angry at him, but he felt nothing of the sort, nothing negative at all. And that scared him. Without the anger keeping him away, it was becoming increasingly difficult to avoid his feelings for Eret. 

He knew he shouldn’t still care about the opinions of a man he hadn’t spoken to in years, but his fathers’ shouts still reverberated in his head, the messages beaten into him after the encounter with Thor Bonecrusher…

And he had a lifetime of reminders that he’d never be good enough.

He’d come close to having to speak to Eret a few days prior - Snotlout had been struggling to focus as of recently and he’d been so out of it that he’d walked straight into him. Eret had tried to stop him, tried to talk to him, but he’d simply run away. He knew by avoiding him, it would result in shame for avoiding his feelings and letting his father win, but if he didn’t, who knew what would happen? 

Snotlout knew he couldn’t run forever, but for now he needed time to decide what to do, and if that gave him time to spend making sure his sister had a beautiful childhood and never had expectations hanging over her head and scars covering her back to influence her ability to access a life of happiness, then it was all the better. He had all the time in the world to speak to Eret; for now he would spend his days drinking ‘the most delicious water ever to be tasted’.

Eret had been throwing himself into work since he discovered that Snotlout was avoiding him. If he didn’t want to see where this was going, that was perfectly fine. All the more time to build a village.

The Great Hall had been finished, which meant as the days got colder, they didn’t have to eat outside by the fire. The docks were now able to lower the boats to the ocean, and over half the village now had houses. Next on the list was the forge; it would have a slightly different use now that they didn’t need to build saddles for the dragons, but it was still a necessity to a Viking village. Unfortunately, the structure of the building was having all of Eret’s anger taken out on it.

“You might want to go a bit lighter with tha’ hammer or you’ll bring the whole thing down!” came the voice of Gobber, who had presumably come to see how his new workplace was looking. 

Eret sighed and dropped the hammer. 

“Wha’ up with you?” Gobber asked curiously.

Another sigh.

Gobber took a different approach. “Would this rage by any chance have something to do with a certain boar-headed numskull?”

This was enough to prompt Eret to explain the entire history of his confusing relationship with Snotlout. He explained that the entire time they’d known each other, Snotlout had been somewhere between making him laugh and making him want to set the man on fire with his constant comments directed at Eret and his confusion about his feelings.

Gobber nodded. “I can see why you’d want to take it out on the Forge, but have you tried just aiming the hammer directly at Snotlout?” he joked.

There was a moment's silence.

"We, uh..." Eret bit his lip. He looked down, then sheepishly back at Gobber, "We kissed."

Gobber’s eyes widened almost comically. Eret wondered whether he should have added that last part, but something in him told him he could trust Gobber with this. 

“Y’know,” began Gobber solemnly, “I never told the one I loved of my feelings. I spent his entire life watching him grow up and find the love of his life and marry her, start a family and then lose her. I watched him die not knowing whether if I’d said something, it could have worked out. Don’t make my mistake, Eret. Go after him.”

Chapter Text

Hiccup wasn’t sure what exactly had happened that day in the forest, but as time went by, Eret and Snotlout began talking again. Small talk, polite conversation when it was needed, but it was something; it wouldn’t be good to have his council falling apart, and more importantly, his friends. The village was almost complete, with the last building to be made being the Chief’s hut. Hiccup had wanted to make sure everyone else had a safe and secure place to live before he did, because it felt like the right thing to do. 

One day, at the beginning of winter, a few weeks before Snoggletog, he received a letter, sent by a representative of the Berserkers. It was the first time anyone from outside of the Tribe had appeared at New Berk, and caused a large amount of chaos. He had taken initiative and gone down on the boat lift to speak to the man, and was handed the letter. It read:

My dear Brother,

I hope you are doing well since the dragons left. You must be missing Toothless.

I am writing to ask for your attendance in our new, bi-annual Archipelago meeting, which will be happening two weeks after you receive this letter. We (Berserkers and Defender’s of the Wing) will be hosting it.

Don’t ask how I tracked you down - I’m just talented like that.

Mala and Heather send their love.

Love your Brother who misses you lots,

Dagur xoxo

Hiccup had shaken his head, amused.

“Okay, gang, here’s the plan-” Hiccup began, which made Snotlout roll his eyes. 

“Yes, yes we already know the plan, let’s just go already!” he exclaimed, climbing into the boat. 

To make the trip to Berserker Island as quick as possible, they were all going to help with rowing the boat, half of them for the first half of the trip and the others for the second half. Snotlout was actually excited for the trip; being isolated from the rest of the Archipelago for this long was getting quite tiring. Plus, he’d get to see Minden for the first time in a few years.

No amount of excitement, however, was going to make this trip on a boat with six other people go any faster.

Eret had obviously never been to Berserker Island before. He knew that his Chief had connections with other tribes, and that most of the people at the meeting would be friendly, but he couldn’t help but feel nervous as he stepped off the boat onto the isle. 

“Brother!” yelled a man with ginger hair and a scar covering one of his eyes. That must be Dagur, he thought. Hiccup had said he meant well and was nicer than you’d think, Tuffnut had said that he was really cool and Snotlout had simply said that he was insane. As Dagur grabbed Hiccup in a bone-crushing hug, he noticed a woman, with olive skin and dark hair, chatting excitedly with Snotlout. They clearly knew each other well, the woman even kissed his cheek as they hugged for what Eret would say was longer than average. The worst part, though, was when she grabbed his hand and they ran off, laughing. Eret didn’t notice his clenched fists until Hiccup was standing next to him.

“Dagur, this is Eret, son of Eret! Eret, Dagur” Hiccup said, introducing the two of them.

Dagur stuck out a hand which Eret cautiously took, still distracted by the idea of Snotlout with that woman. His hand was shaken vigorously, which was enough to get his attention back. 

“So, Eret, when did Hiccup adopt you?” Dagur asked excitedly. Eret just stared at him.

“He didn’t exactly adopt me-”

“Yes he did. That’s what Hiccup does.”

“Okay, sure.” Eret responded, not in the mood to pick a fight. “Who is the woman Snotlout ran off with?”

Hiccup looked around, evidently having not even noticed he’d disappeared. Dagur answered his question. “Oh, that was Minden. She’s a Wingmaiden. She wanted to come down to the docks with me to see the Snotman. I think they used to have some sort of romance going on, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh yeah, Minden! Who else is here?” Hiccup exclaimed.

Dagur began listing names that he wasn’t familiar with - not that he was even listening. So, Snotlout and that Minden girl used to be romantically involved? Not that it was any of his business. If he and Snotlout had been together, it would be different, but Snotlout probably didn’t even share his feelings. Yes, he had made all those comments a few weeks back, and he’d seemed quite into the kiss, but he probably still liked - or even loved - this girl. His gaze dropped to the ground at the thought of it.

Snotlout couldn’t be happier to see Minden again. He missed his friend, and hadn’t seen her in a few years. She had dragged him to the room she was staying in; it wasn’t big, just a bed and a place to store clothes, but it looked cozy.

“You’re welcome to stay with me if you like.” Minden offered.

Snotlout nodded. “That’d be nice. I’d rather share a room with you than one of the guys, or gods forbid, Eret. Hiccup keeps trying to force us to spend time together. It’s so annoying. ”

“Who’s Eret? Was that the pretty guy I didn’t recognise?” she asked curiously, sitting down on the bed and patting it next to her, telling Snotlout to sit down too.

He obliged, and tucked his head into her shoulder, burying his head in her hair. 

“Don’t get me started. Yes, that was Eret. Yes, he’s pretty. But he’s driving me mad!” he exclaimed dramatically. Minden responded by patting him on the head and then unceremoniously shoving him off her.

“What’s wrong with Eret?” she asked, laughing at his indignant expression.

He stayed silent, but felt his cheeks burn up. 

Minden sat up straight, looking full of excitement.

“OoooOoo, does Snotlout have a crush? Shocking!” she exclaimed. He groaned. 

“Keep your voice down, woman!” he responded grumpily. He was actually quite happy to finally have the chance to speak to someone who would understand. 

“He’s just- Yeah, okay, maybe I have feelings for him and maybe we made out a little bit a few weeks ago-”

Minden squealed. “You two kissed? I bet he’d be a good kisser.”

“Back off!” Snotlout said, laughing. “I just- I don’t know what to do. My father would never approve and while I don’t want or need his approval, well, you know what he’s done before… I don't want him to hurt Eret.” he trailed off, expression dropping.

Minden draped an arm over his shoulder. 

“Snotlout, you should tell Hiccup how your father treated you! He could do something about it!” she responded, giving him a look of sympathy. 

“Well, actually I did. I mean, he kinda worked it out for himself…they exiled him about a year ago.” he explained. “It’s just, what if he finds his way back? What if he comes after me? I don’t want to put Eret in danger!”

Minden simply pulled him into a hug, and he buried his face in her shoulder again. It was nice to have her around.

Then he had a thought and pulled away. “Sooo, what’s new with you? Any guys or gals I need to threaten to make sure they treat you right?”. He added a wink at the end for extra dramatics.

Minden laughed. “Well, have you met Camicaze before? Heir to the Bog Burglars?”

“No, but apparently she’s a friend of Hiccup’s. That guy really does know everyone!” he explained, raising an eyebrow. “Are you two- ?”

“Oh no, not yet anyway. I just think she’s cute!” she said, shrugging with a grin.

The next morning, Eret was coming back from a walk around the island - he hadn’t been able to sleep - when he saw Snotlout and Minden walk out of a hut together, laughing about something. So, he’d spent the night with her? He knew it didn’t necessarily mean they’d done anything, but it brought back the strong jealousy. It was about time for the meeting to start and since he had no idea where he was going, unfortunately he just had to follow the two of them. 

They walked into a large, mostly empty room, similar to the Great Hall back on New Berk, and he spotted the table where the other Berkians were sitting. He quickly made his way over and took a seat next to Fishlegs, asking, “I didn’t miss anything yet, did I?”

Fishlegs shook his head, looking distractedly at the door. For a moment, Eret thought he was watching Snotlout and Minden as well, but at that moment, a different woman with black hair and piercing green eyes walked in, searching the room before spotting what she seemed to be looking for: their table.

She started running toward them, which Eret found rather strange since he didn’t even know who she was. Obviously the rest of his friends did, and Astrid even jumped up to meet her.

“Heather!” she exclaimed, happily. She hugged the woman - Heather, a name he vaguely recognised - as Hiccup stood from his conversation with yet another person he didn’t know to greet her too. 

“Hey guys! It’s so nice to see you again! Sorry I wasn’t around yesterday - intertribal relations can be really complicated when you have two living on the same island!” she explained.

“It’s great to see you too, Heather!” Hiccup replied, going in for a hug too.

The twins looked up and spotted her. “Heather! Hey girlie, how ya been?” Ruffnut began, loudly.

Tuffnut immediately jumped up. “Oh, it’s you. Chicken never liked you, so legally, or maybe emotionally, I’m not allowed to like you. But you were a good cook. It’s a shame, but it is what it is.” He finished with a grand shrug of his shoulders.

“Well, Tuffnut hasn’t changed much, although his voice sounds a little strange.” Heather continued.

She looked over at Fishlegs and smiled.

“Hey, you.”

Fishlegs looked like he wanted to run away. “H- hi, Heather!”

Heather gave him a sweet smile, and suddenly it made more sense. Well, this was going to be awkward, Eret thought, finding himself somewhat excited for the drama about to unfold, if only as a distraction.

Ruffnut stood up and walked over to Fishlegs, grabbing his hand. “Sorry, Heather, but he’s mine now!”

As if to make sure she understood, she leaned in and kissed Fishlegs, making quite a show of it. A look passed over Heather’s face, of sadness and maybe hurt. Hiccup, sensing the awkwardness, changed the conversation.

“Heather, you haven’t met Eret yet! Eret, this is a long time friend of ours.” he explained, making introductions yet again. 

Heather suddenly seemed to notice him, and raised an eyebrow. “Wow, Hiccup, where have you been hiding this one?”

“Heather! You can’t just walk straight past me without saying hello!” yelled Snotlout, appearing without his ‘friend’ Minden. He shot Eret a glare, which seemed a bit rude given the circumstances, but then that was Snotlout.

Heather let out a laugh. “Hey Snotlout, sorry I completely missed you back there. Was that Minden with you?” 

Great. More talk of Minden.

After a small conversation, Heather turned back to Eret, saying in a flirting tone, “I’ll be back to find you later!”. 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Snotlout watching him closely, but he couldn’t quite work out the look on his face this time. Whatever it was, it wasn’t at all malicious.

In all of the chaos of the recent weeks, one thing Snotlout had not accounted for was Eret’s looks and the possibility of losing him to someone else before having a chance to talk with him. What was Heather even thinking? That wasn’t like her at all. He knew it was probably just a way of saving herself the embarrassment of still being into Fishface after all these years just to find out he was with Ruffnut. Still, it didn’t help his worries.

He knew he needed to speak to Eret, and fast, but what would he even say? Oh yeah, I know we argued a lot and then made out that one time and haven’t really spoken since, but by any chance have you fallen madly in love with me regardless? This really would be tricky, he realised. 

The meeting had been a great success, and there had been a great deal of food and catching up afterwards. He was fairly sure he’d caught up on the gossip, the most important being Mala’s pregnancy! That had come as a surprise, but of course he was happy for her and Dagster. 

It’d been nice seeing them all again, but right now his priorities had changed; he had to find Eret.

Fishlegs felt awful for not having told Heather in advance about himself and Ruffnut. They’d been sending letters back and forth up until a few months ago, and while he’d started dating Ruffnut since being at New Berk and therefore hadn’t had any way of communicating that, he’d had feelings for her for a few years already by that point, and while he and Heather weren’t exactly romantically involved, there had definitely been a spark at one point. He loved Ruffnut, he did, but that wasn’t enough to stop the guilt he felt. 

After the meeting ended, he asked to speak to her, and they walked out to the cliffside. There was an awkward silence for a few moments, before he started. “Heather-”

“No, don’t feel bad,” Heather cut in, a sad look in her eyes, “it’s not like we were ever together. Did I still hope that one day, we would start a relationship? Yes, and would I have liked to be told that the love of my life was into someone else? A little warning would have been nice!”

Her voice gradually got louder.

“Heather, I-”

“How long has this been going on?” she interrupted again. 

Fishlegs shuffled awkwardly on the spot. “Not that long, around a month?” he replied carefully.

“I’ve had feelings for her since we left the Edge, though…” he admitted.

Heather sighed.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, sounding much more calm, but upset.

“I- I didn’t want to hurt you. You’re one of my best friends, Heather. I know I should have told you, and if you didn’t want to exchange letters anymore, I’d understand.” Fishlegs explained, not quite meeting her eyes.

Heather’s expression softened. “Fishlegs, it’s okay. Just a bit of a shock, that’s all! Nothing would ever make me want to stop talking with you - you’re one of my best friends!”

Fishlegs let out a sigh of relief that he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. Maybe things would be okay after all.

“Hiccup! How are you, my boy?” exclaimed Alvin the Outcast, giving him a friendly slap on the back. (Hiccup was proud to say that he managed to not flinch for once).

“Yeah, I’m doing alright, what about you? The Outcasts doing well?” he responded, smiling.

Alvin nodded. “We’re all alright. I was sorry to hear about your Dad; Stoick was a great man.”

This was something he’d heard a lot since his arrival at Berserker Island - he was seeing a lot of his friends for the first time since his father had passed away, and it was starting to overwhelm him. Thankfully, a distraction came in the form of Dagur and Mala, the former of which was clinging onto his wife’s arm, asking, “Can I tell him? Can I tell him? Please let me tell him!”

“Tell who what?” Hiccup interrupted, attempting to push himself into a conversation that was less likely to send him into a spiral. 

“Hiccup, we had something we’d like to ask you.” Mala explained, before gesturing to Dagur, who jumped with excitement.

“Hiccup,” he began, “would you do us the honour of being our baby’s godfather?”

This caught him by surprise. “Really? Of course! Thank you!” he exclaimed, eyes lighting up. 

“You were the obvious choice, Hiccup. You’ve always been there for both of us, saving us numerous times. We wouldn’t have even met if it wasn’t for you.” responded Mala in her usual calm voice.

Hiccup couldn’t help but grin at the two of them. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad trip after all.

“Ruffnut, my dear friend, are the rumors true? Did you fall for that man, Fishlegs?” Throk asked, appearing seemingly out of thin air. Tuffnut looked up from the marvelous boars he was looking at to stare at the other man's love-sick expression with disgust.

“You can’t still be in love with my sister, Throkman? It’s not a good look.” he asked, exasperatedly.

Ruffnut smirked at him. “What can I say, bro? All the guys love me. It’s not a surprise, I am the gorgeous twin after all.”

Tuffnut was outraged at that comment, but remembered that Throk was about to get very disappointed so became quite excited,

His twin turned to look over at Throk. “The rumors are true, I’m with Fishlegs now, sorry not sorry but if it helps, I’m not sure Heather’s too happy about it either so it could be a really good bonding experience.” she finished, shrugging. 

The Throkster raised his head, looking towards the sky in order to contain himself. Tuffnut didn’t understand why getting turned down by his sister of all people would ever result in that kind of a reaction - he himself was definitely more of a catch.

“Very well, Ruffnut. I pray to the gods that he treats you well, and I give my blessing for your marriage.” he managed to say, before walking away, head lowered in what Tuffnut could only guess was shame, probably at himself for falling for her in the first place.

“Can you believe that guy?” he asked his sister.

“I know! As if I’d marry Fishlegs so quickly!”

Tuffnut shook his head. Clearly, he had the good looks and the brains.

“ERET! Stop ignoring me!” Snotlout ordered indignantly. Considering he’d spent an hour trying to track the man down, he would have thought Eret would be a little kinder and not completely ignored his presence in favour of staring off into the distance, brooding.

He knew the whole point of finding the man was to have a serious conversation with him - which involved being polite - which is why he only poked him lightly on the back. Eret flinched ever so slightly, before turning around with a look of confusion, which quickly changed to frustration.

“I’ve been standing here for like five whole minutes, why were you ignoring me?” he asked. 

Eret responded by taking some grass out of his ears, which explained a lot.

“I made some ear plugs so I could get some peace and quiet, and to avoid this exact situation. What do you want, Snotlout?” Eret explained, looking almost bored.

Snotlout suddenly looked at the ground, shuffling on the spot. “Well, I was hoping we could talk?”

Eret raised an eyebrow. 

“Okay.” he agreed, surprisingly. “But not here. I don’t want anyone overhearing, or any distractions.”

Snotlout nodded. “That’s fair. I think the Dragon Stables are empty?”

They both knew the dragon stables were empty. The memories it brought up left a heavy silence between them as they trekked up the hill towards the untouched, unchanged stables.

When they arrived, however, they were met with the sight of Minden and another girl - Camicaze, he thought - locked in a passionate embrace. Eret gave him a look similar to that of fear which he found amusing. 

Clearing his throat loudly was enough to get them to snap apart. He gave Minden a very pointed look, who looked at him questioningly, before locking eyes with Eret. 

“Oh, I see.” she giggled. “Camicaze,” she said, turning to the small, blonde woman in her arms, “do you want to come back to my place?”

“That sounds like fun!” Camicaze responded, flirtily. 

As the two women ran off, Snotlout shouted after them, “I think you mean our place, Minden!”

He turned to look back to Eret, who wore a disgruntled expression, but gestured for him to start talking.

“Listen, Eret, I’m sorry for not speaking to you about- about what happened. Between us. I guess I got scared, and I didn’t want you to get hurt…” he trailed off, not sure what to say.

“If you don’t like me, you should have just said! I shouldn’t have kissed you; you’ve only ever shown me that you don’t like me, and I just kept ignoring you, hoping, praying for Thor’s sake, that you were only joking around!” Eret exclaimed, pacing the room. 

Snotlout stared at him. Why did he hope and pray that he was just joking around? He surely didn’t mean that much to Eret?

Eret stopped pacing and suddenly met his eyes with a startlingly sharp look. 

“What’s going on between you and Minden?” he asked, voice strangely quiet all of a sudden.

Snotlout met his eyes with confusion. 

“Minden? What does she have to- Oh, Thor, did the others tell you something?” he realised, suddenly understanding the situation. Eret nodded.

“Nothing is happening between us, I promise! I mean, we did kiss once or twice, and maybe initially there were some feelings, but we barely knew each other! 

We were both outcasts from the world, or at least that’s how it felt. Neither of us had ever really fitted in, always making rash decisions and never really being able to stop and think - I assume you’ve figured that out about me by now. Especially now. 

When we met, we saw ourselves in each other. Maybe, if things had been a little different, something could have happened between us, but it didn’t. We decided to stay in contact, sending terrormails and meeting up every so often. It was a friendship we both really needed - we’ve been able to help each other figure out the world and learn to love ourselves more.”

Snotlout took a deep breath before adding, “The only person I have eyes for now, is, well…you.” 

He heard Eret’s footsteps getting closer, before his chin was carefully lifted up so their eyes could meet. He felt his breath hitch in his throat, his heart skip a beat.

“Why have you been so- so distant then? We could have had this conversation weeks ago.” Eret asked softly.

“I was…scared. Of my father.” he admitted. “You know that he was exiled, but do you know why?”

Eret shook his head.

“Because, to put it lightly, he was a really shitty father. He- he never thought I was good enough, and he told me so every day of my childhood. Mom was always telling him off for that, and he would hit her. And then me, when she wasn’t looking. After she died, things only got worse. 

There- there was this guy. Well, technically Fishlegs, but not really - I’ll explain later, there’s no need to get jealous,” he joked, as if he hadn’t just said what he’d said. 

“Anyway, I was a bit obsessed with him. And, well, my father didn’t react well. Eventually Hiccup found out and exiled him - I’ve never been so scared of my cousin before. The look in his eyes…

I haven’t seen him since, but what if he ever found out about us and tried to hurt you? I could never let that happen, hence I avoided you.” he finished, trying to look away.

The next thing he knew, he was being pulled into a hug. He felt Eret stroke his hair lightly, before he pulled back and announced, “I’ve fought that man before, I could take him again, y’know.”

This surprised Snotlout. When had Eret fought his father? 

“I can look after myself. And I really- I really like you.” he continued, which made him gasp silently. Their faces moved closer together.

“Oh, there you guys are!” came the voice of Hiccup. Snotlout had never wanted to hit his cousin more than in that moment. The guy never could read a room.

Snotlout begrudgingly pulled himself out of Eret’s arms and with a final soft look, turned around and went to see what Hiccup wanted.

Chapter Text

The trip home from Berserker Island was a largely uneventful one until just before their arrival. Snotlout and Eret hadn’t spoken since their conversation in the old dragon stables - this time because they hadn’t been alone rather than ignoring each other again. However, they had shared a few kind looks, which cemented the idea that they may have made it through their arguing days for good.

Before leaving, Snotlout had updated Minden on the conversation they’d had, and in turn Minden had excitedly announced she’d be seeing Camicaze again soon. Saying goodbye had been difficult, but Minden promised she’d visit soon, and that he’d maybe even be allowed to pay a visit to Wingmaiden Island now that there weren’t any baby Razorwhips that needed protecting. 

All in all, the trip had gone better than expected, and the news he received before their arrival made it all the more better.

“There’s something Hiccup and I wanted to share with you all before it’s officially announced when we get back.” Astrid explained, catching their attention.

Tuffnut stood up quickly. “You’re dying! No, I know we were wrong last time back at the Edge, but it makes sense! Of course you’d want to tell us before the rest of the Tribe, we love you. Although, does this mean the position of Chieftess is open? I know I’m not a woman but Hiccup, will you let me take over Astrid’s role? I can even kiss you if needs be-”

“No one’s dying, Tuffnut!” exclaimed Hiccup, as Astrid rolled her eyes.

Ruffnut was the next to take a guess. “You’re pregnant! It’s so obvious, you’re so moody all the time. Can I babysit? I think I’d make a pretty good babysitter.”

Hiccup had to hold Astrid back after that comment. 

Wary of being clobbered over the head by Astrid’s axe, Snotlout carefully asked, “Are you getting married?”

His comment was met with a shared smile between the two, before Hiccup responded with a nod. The twins jumped up with excitement as Snotlout ran to give his cousin a rare hug. 

“Ten, eleven years ago, who would have thought Hiccup the Useless would have gotten the girl, nevermind married her?” he muttered jokingly. 

As they arrived back to a snow covered New Berk, Snotlout found himself actually looking forward to the idea of what the future may bring.

Eret had a lot of respect for the Chief - afterall, he’d given him a chance to start a fresh life on Berk - but he seriously didn’t think he’d thought his wedding plans through. They’d only just finished building the necessities of the village, and now instead of a well earned break, he had to help decorate? 

The happy couple had decided to get married as soon as possible, only ten days after their return from Berserker Island, so they had to prepare quickly. Eret had offered to collect wood for a fire to make sure everyone stayed warm since the ceremony would be taking place outside, and after a very pointed look at Snotlout, the other man had eventually caught on and offered to help, much to the surprise of the rest of their friends.

As he made his way to the forest, he caught sight of Snotlout. He had an almost angelic glow in the bright winter sun, and his eyes sparkled like a flightmare. Snotlout greeted him as their paths met at the edge of the forest, but Eret merely followed him into the forest until he decided they were suitably far away from the village, and pushed Snotlout up against a tree.

Bending his head down so his lips almost brushed against Snotlout’s, he grinned. “Hi!”

“I thought we’re supposed to be working.” smirked Snotlout, moving his arms so they hung around Eret’s neck.

Eret brushed his lips against Snotlout’s. “You’re pretty.” he murmured, before kissing him deeply. Snotlout responded enthusiastically, standing on tiptoes to pull Eret closer. They stood like that, kissing, exploring each other’s mouths for a few minutes, before Eret pulled away slightly to rest his forehead on Snotlout’s as they both tried to catch their breath.

“I’m not running away this time.” Snotlout muttered, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. Eret hummed in response.

After a few minutes of slow breathing and quick, stolen kisses, Eret moved away.

“C’mon, we should probably get some work done.” he announced, laughing at the pout on Snotlout’s face. 

Snotlout couldn’t lie, it really had been one of the best days of his life - a day spent in the forest collecting wood and kissing Eret son of Eret was probably a popular dream. However, it felt almost too good to be true. He had half expected his father to jump out from behind a tree at any moment.

But one of the things that scared him the most was the knowledge that this most likely meant commitment. Snotlout couldn’t understand why anyone would settle for him, and what if one day Eret thought the same? As much as he wanted this, he couldn’t shake the thought that Eret was making a mistake, and one that he could realise at any point. He didn’t want to be alone; more than anything, he had spent his life wishing to be loved.

Not in the self-centered way, as he’d presented it, but in that he’d always felt like an outsider, and his constant fear that everyone was simply tolerating him, and that one day everyone would abandon him, laughing at the idea that he’d ever thought he was loved.

His mother had loved him, and he never doubted that. She had been his best friend growing up. But she was gone, and she wasn’t coming back. 

There was of course one other person that he never doubted loved him:

“Leela, Astrid said she wanted to speak to you about something! Shall we go see her now?” he asked his little sister a few days later. 

Leela’s eyes lit up with excitement.

They had walked over Hiccup and Astrid’s hut - she had moved in with him when they announced their engagement - and Leela very excitedly knocked on the door. It was opened by Hiccup, who knelt down to her height.

“Hey, Adelaide! What brings you here?” he asked, knowing exactly what she was there for, but enjoying the interaction with his younger cousin regardless. (Snotlout sometimes wondered if she was his favourite cousin, which was fair because she was adorable).

“Hiccup! Astrid wanted to speak to me! Is she here?” she explained, confidently. 

“Yes, she’s just upstairs. Come on in!” he exclaimed, opening the door to allow her and Snotlout inside.

Hiccup’s new hut had a striking similarity to the one back on Old Berk. The fireplace crackled in the same place it always had, the table stood where it should, and the stairs led to what Snotlout could only assume was an almost exact replica of the rooms that came before it. Some of the best memories of his childhood echoed through the hut; the flickering flames seemed to dance with reminders of a more innocent time.

“It looks just the same, doesn’t it?” murmured Hiccup, appearing next to him.

He could only nod.

“I almost expect your dad to walk in from the back door, y’know?” added Snotlout, after a moment. In response, he felt his cousin squeeze his hand tightly.

“Astrid!” yelled Leela, excitedly. To her, Snotlout imagined, she was just in her cousin’s hut. She was so excited that she probably wouldn’t have realised she was on a different island.

As soon as Astrid reached the end of the stairs, she was ambushed by Leela, who she picked up and spun around. Leela had always looked up to Astrid.

“Hey, lovely! I had something I wanted to ask you, shall we sit down?” Astrid explained, carrying his sister over to the table after she enthusiastically nodded.

Snotlout watched the two with adoration; he knew he and Astrid hadn’t always gotten on well, but she’d been one of his closest friends for most of his life, and she really meant the world to him. His little sister actually was his world, and seeing how happy she was gave him a sense of joy. He’d been able to give her the childhood he didn’t get, and even if he achieved nothing but that in his entire life, he could rest in peace.

Astrid continued, “Would you, by any chance, want to be a flower girl at our wedding?”

Leela practically screamed the hut down with excitement.

Eret couldn’t keep up with Snotlout’s train of thought. First, he seemed to hate him, then they kissed, then he refused to talk to him, then he really liked him and always had, and now he was, yet again, running away from the situation because Eret…liked him? 

It had started the day before the wedding. They had been back in the forest again, this time collecting flowers to create a bouquet of flowers for Astrid. Snotlout had been quieter, never meeting his eye, fidgeting a lot more than usual, and after destroying the petals of yet another perfectly good flower, Eret decided to find out why.

“What’s up with you?” he asked, placing a hand over both of Snotlout’s shaking ones. 

Snotlout pulled his hands back. “M’just cold.” he muttered, looking intensely at the ground.

Eret hadn’t pushed this any further, until they came to parting ways. He had leaned down to kiss Snotlout, but the other man had flinched, moving swiftly out of the way. While they hadn’t particularly discussed the manner of their relationship at great length - that is to say, at all - but they had fallen into a routine of kissing at least as they said goodbye. This had been the last straw for Eret.

“What in Thor’s name is going on today, Snotlout? You’ve been acting strangely all day!” he exclaimed, voice hinting at frustration.

Snotlout had sighed, focusing on the tree behind where Eret stood. “I just- I just don’t understand why you’re settling for someone like me!” he shouted into the quiet of the forest, “I’m irritating and difficult to communicate with. There are so many nicer, better people out there that you’d be better off with!”

Eret had tried to interrupt, Snotlout continued.

“I just don't know whether I can - can commit to this relationship without spending my life feeling guilty about it. And one day, you’re gonna understand what I mean, and you’re gonna remember this conversation, knowing that I was right, and if we don’t stop now, you’ll spend your life regretting it too!”

That had been a lot to take in. He had thought they’d talked about it, made an unspoken agreement to at least try, but clearly they were both on separate pages.

He knew he was being unreasonable - or at least, he knew after he’d stormed away from the situation. Snotlout was perfectly entitled to being in a different place than him, but it was just frustrating; he wasn’t sure he could be in a relationship that wasn’t going anywhere and run the risk of losing his friend, so unless Snotlout made up his mind soon, Eret worried that he may have to admit defeat and run now before getting hurt further along the line.

Chapter Text

“Stop- fidgeting , unless you don’t want this stupid cloak on?” Snotlout huffed, as yet again, he failed to attach said cloak to his cousin’s outfit. The day of the wedding had finally arrived, and the Isle of New Berk had woken up to a blanket of snow covering the village, glistening in the bright, winter sun, making it a truly perfect day to hold a wedding, as long as you didn’t mind freezing half to death.

Snotlout had been helping his cousin get ready all morning, which mainly consisted of telling him to stop being ridiculous, Astrid does love him, and trying to figure out that damned cloak. It was a ceremonial chieftain cloak, introduced when he married and worn there after, but the chain had broken off at one side and they’d spent the last half hour trying to work out how to fix it.

Snotlout dropped the cloak in defeat. “Are you sure you want to wear it this badly?” he joked. 

“Of course everything that could possibly go wrong today has!” Hiccup exclaimed, in a state of frenzy. 

“Oh Thor,” Snotlout muttered under his breath, before shaking his head at his cousin. “You need to calm down. Now! Nothing is gonna go wrong, you love Astrid, and she loves you; really, that’s all that matters! You’re supposed to enjoy this day - you found the love of your life, and you get to show her off to the whole world without a doubt, without fear, without judgement -”

He hadn’t realised he had been ranting, voice raising, until he was cut off by Hiccup.

“Uh, Snotlout, is something up?” Hiccup asked, raising an eyebrow. 

A moment of silence, and then…

“It’s about Eret.” Snotlout said shortly, turning away to watch the roaring fire, hanging his head. The eye roll Hiccup followed the comment with was audible, but he couldn’t say he blamed him particularly. 

Hiccup cleared his throat, asking through a grin, “Of course, what did he do this time?”

Snotlout spun around to face the other man, pointing accusingly.

“You need to stop enjoying this so much!” he exclaimed, before dramatically turning back towards the dancing flames.

“It’s my wedding day, I thought you said I was supposed to be enjoying myself!” Hiccup shrugged. “If he didn’t do anything wrong, then what’s the prob- oh. Oh. ” 

As his cousin trailed off, Snotlout knew that he’d worked it out. Cheeks burning, he prepared for the laughter, maybe even judgement, but all that he received was the welcoming arms of his cousin pulling him into a hug, a hug that showed him more love than his father ever had. 

It occurred to Snotlout in that moment that while his father never cared about him, and his mother was gone, he had a family here that would always, always love him, no matter what. 

Eleven years ago, they hadn’t been so close, and never would he have imagined this day coming. The dragons had such an impact on their lives that wasn’t recognised a lot, but remained there nevertheless. That day Hiccup introduced them to their dragons, the day he’d met Hooky, was the day everything changed. They wouldn’t have left Old Berk, never would have saved as many people and dragons alike as they had, never would have formed such a close bond. Hiccup would not be standing here preparing himself to marry the girl of his dreams, Astrid.

And he would have never met Eret.

This day had been such an unimaginable idea, and yet regardless, here it was. If that could happen, if such an unlikely series of events had made this day possible, maybe there was still hope for him. Maybe it wasn’t all so impossible after all - nothing really was when he thought about it, just highly improbable. If fate, as improbable as it was, had drawn himself and Eret together, then maybe it was worth seeing it through. Who was he to argue with the gods?

Snotlout pulled away from the hug, ruffling Hiccup’s hair in a brotherly way. 

“Hiccup, you are a genius !” he exclaimed, before grabbing the cloak and running out of the door, shouting back at his cousin, “I’ll be back with this cloak later, I promise!”

Hiccup was left alone, eyes wide with confusion. “O-okay, you’re welcome…I guess?”

A few minutes later, heart racing, breathless, Snotlout came to a halt in the newly finished blacksmiths. He immediately began scanning the area, hoping to find Eret, but all he got instead was the blacksmith himself.

“Wha’ on Odin’s green earth are you up to?” Gobber asked, confusion plastered across his face. “Shouldn’t you be helping Hiccup get ready?”

Snotlout shook his head, still fighting to catch his breath. “I was- looking for- Eret. Have you- seen him?” he responded, far too quickly.

Gobber sighed, turning back to his work. “And wha’ would you want with him? Y’know, he told me tha’ you quite upset him yesterday!”

“Gobber, you don’t understand. I’m trying to fix it! I did some thinking, and I know what I need to do!” he explained, clutching the stitch in his side with his free hand.

“Today isn’t about you, Snotlout. Maybe you just need to get back to your best man duties before you cause any more problems.” shrugged Gobber, unhelpfully. 

This just spurred him on all the more, and as soon as he’d rolled his eyes, he took off again, only turning around when he remembered about Hiccup’s cloak. He awkwardly ran back and threw it in Gobber’s general direction.

“Hiccup wanted this fixed.” 

Snotlout’s next stop was his own hut, which he had offered to the Bride to get ready for the ceremony since she wasn’t supposed to see Hiccup beforehand. He pulled open the door, still out of breath, but stopped dead at the sight of Astrid.

“You look- wow…” he exclaimed, “Yeah, wow pretty much sums it up!”

Astrid gave him a smile as bright as the blanket of snow that covered the village. She wore a gown of white, with a matching cloak - this one was even attached, he noted - and her blonde hair flowed around her, haloed with a crown of light pink flowers.

Remembering why he was there, he frantically looked; behind Astrid stood Ruffnut, Fishlegs and Valka - still no sign of Eret. He really needed to find him before it was too late -

“Are you okay, Snotlout? Who’re you looking for?” asked Astrid, jolting him back from his thoughts.

He thought about what Gobber had said; this day wasn’t about him. Yes, he needed to find Eret, but there was no need to draw attention to himself. Astrid had better things to be thinking about right that second.

Snotlout shook his head. “No one, it’s fine.”

He paused for a moment, before lurching forwards and pulling Astrid into a tight hug, just as her soon-to-be husband had done before. He pressed a quick kiss to her cheek.

“I’m so happy for you.” he murmured in her ear, before leaving, back to see his cousin - the ceremony would be starting soon after all.

After stopping to pick up Hiccup’s cloak, and apologising to Gobber, he made the trek back up to the Chief’s hut. He’d spent so much time running around that day that he hadn’t had a chance to take in his surroundings. With Snoggletog right around the corner, it made sense that soon there would be snow, but waking up to it this morning in particular had made him feel nostalgic. It reminded him of where he’d come from, and the things he’d overcome. He knew he was a better person for all the experiences he’d had - his difficult childhood on Berk, and the way he’d spoken up about his father, and faced his fears. His years with Hookfang, and the relationship he’d built with him, the relationships he’d simultaneously built with his friends. The people he’d saved, the fun he’d had. There were difficult things of course - losing his Uncle Stoick had been incredibly hard for him. And of course, he missed his mother more than he could put into words.

Watching the sun shine through the moving clouds, he felt a strange warmth considering the cold day. Today marked the end of a chapter, and the beginning of a new one. The dragons had left so suddenly that he hadn’t really had time to consider how much his life would change in the moment, but this felt like closure. Hiccup and Astrid were finally getting married! Through all the chaos of the last month or so, it seemed like something normal was finally happening - this was always what was supposed to happen, and within the uncertainty, it was something important to cling to.

He finally seemed to know what he wanted in life, and now that he had processed and really thought about it, there was no other answer, really. Sure, there were many things he wanted: Hookfang to come home, his Uncle Stoick to be alive to see the wedding he’d always talked of, his Mother to be here, even just a final hug from her…

But if there was one thing he was certain he wanted right now, if he could only choose one thing, it was Eret.

When Snotlout arrived back at Hiccup’s hut, Tuffnut seemed to be giving him some sort of speech.

“And now, my faithful pupil, I must say I’m surprised you-”

“Tuffnut, go back to the others and tell them we’re just about to leave, will you?” Snotlout interjected, rolling his eyes.

Tuffnut slapped Hiccup on the back, and strutted out of the hut with his head held high, as if he’d had anything to do with this wedding.

Snotlout met Hiccup’s eyes with an encouraging smile. 

“You ready, cuz?” he asked, grinning.

“As I’ll ever be…” 

After leaving Hiccup in the capable hands of Valka and Gobber at the altar, Snotlout let out a sigh of relief. So far, so good. 

He turned to see Eret watching him carefully, and his stomach did a flip. He made his way to stand next to him, moving his eyes away from his cousin to glance at Eret. 

“Eret, I-”

At that moment, his sister and Astrid began walking down the aisle, the latter of which the epitome of grace, his sister less so. Both wore wide smiles, and Snotlout couldn't help but mirror their expressions.

The ceremony was beautiful, but from the moment Eret caught the bouquet of flowers that they had put together the previous day, Snotlout only had eyes for him - or at least as soon as he escaped from Tuffnut’s grasp. 

The happily married couple left to have a moment to themselves before the celebrations began, and the crowds soon dispersed to move towards the Great Hall. Eventually, only Snotlout and Eret remained, both frozen to the spot, wondering who would make the first move. 

It was Eret. He turned to look at Snotlout, who couldn’t help but watch in awe of the other man. His amber eyes seemed to glitter all the more on the snowy day, and he looked beautiful. There was no other word for it. 

But then Eret did something surprising: he got down on one knee, looking into Snotlout’s eyes with so much love it seemed to overflow, and held the bouquet of flowers out to him.

“WOAH, what? Um, Eret, I mean I’m flattered , but shouldn’t we slow down a bit-” Snotlout rambled, eyes wide, not entirely processing what was happening.

Eret rolled his eyes, which seemed like a strange thing to do since he’d just proposed.

“I’m not proposing ! I’m just asking for commitment. A relationship.” Eret explained, hesitantly meeting his eyes.

Oh. Snotlout couldn’t help but feel ever so slightly relieved that it wasn’t a real proposal, but a proposal of commitment. He was asking for the two of them to be in a loving, committed relationship.

Without really knowing what he was doing, Snotlout took the flowers and threw them aside, took Eret’s face in his palms and kissed him. Eret immediately responded, wrapping his arms around him tightly, and trying to return the kiss, but both men were grinning too much for it to amount to much. It really was a perfect day.

Eret couldn’t have been happier if he tried. As he stared out into the horizon, stood on the cliffside with his friends - no, his family - he knew he really had made it. He’d definitely taken the hard path, but in the end it had all been worth it, and as he squeezed Snotlout’s hand, and looked over at Hiccup and Astrid, the glowing newlyweds, he knew he would do it all again tenfold if it meant he could stay in this moment forever.