All was calm and uneventful on Berk the last week. This was unusual for the gang. However, Hiccup was busy with a few visiting chiefs and Astrid was helping Valka find the hunter ships to raid nearby. Ruff and Tuff had surprisingly run out of tricks to play. Especially when the gang knew they were plotting and planning. It had been a year and a half since both Fishlegs and Snotlout had fallen for Ruffnut. Ruffnut thinks back to the time she was married to Fishlegs. Sure it was fun, but a part of her felt that- knew that he only liked her because Heather hardly came to Berk unless there was an emergency on Berserker Island. It made sense to everyone though because Dagur taught her nothing before leaving for Defenders of the Wing.
After breakfast Ruffnut finds herself in the stables watching Hiccup teach Snotlout how to keep from setting himself on fire again. After all it was the fifth flight suit in the past month despite there only being two missions.
"Come on, Snotlout! This is important! I can't keep making you flight suits! I'm far too busy," Hiccup explains.
"I don't entirely get it though. Besides, you should've tested it to see if it was fire-proof before giving it to me," Snotlout responds.
"How you manage to set yourself on fire is beyond me. I made all your flight suits with dragon scales! You won't be burned alive if you take care of your flight suit. That means no more wearing it around town to scare visiting tribes, children, small dragons, or Fishlegs. And no more washing it in old bath water," Hiccup tells his cousin.
"It's called reusing water. One visiting tribe called it "recycling" if I remember correctly," Snotlout remarks.
"Its also called gross," Ruffnut finally speaks up. Both men look over at her as she grabs a fish from a nearby barrel and brings it to a groggy Hookfang. The arguing had woken the dragon and at the moment he was tempted to eat Snotlout if that meant he'd shut up and let him sleep.
"Just take care of this flight suit Snotlout. No more terrorizing people while just wearing it through town. I'm late for a meeting. If either of you see have something urgent to tell me- matter of life or death urgent, you know where to find me. Once my mom and Astrid get back, let them know where I am. I a want full report of what happened on the search so we can make any other raid plans," Hiccup says before mounting Toothless and leaving.
"So... you set yourself on fire again?" Ruffnut asks jokingly.
"Dragon scales my butt! I wouldn't have set myself on fire so many times if he actually tested these," Snotlout responds setting his new flight suit to the side.
"He did. Once he made his he tested it, then got the idea to make us flight suits too. I only remember because Astrid was with him when he tested his with a bucket of water in case he set himself on fire like the muttonhead he is. Once Astrid set the bucket down, Tuff and I grabbed it and threw it on them. The next two days we avoided Astrid like the Scourge cause we thought she was going to kill us. Each flight suit is tested on each dragon. I'll admit, it looked cool seeing Hiccup try blowing up Tuff and my flight suits in the arena," Ruffnut laughs.
"Why wasn't I there when he tested five with Hookfang. Did he try dragon-napping Hooky from me?" Snotlout questions.
"You made excuses almost every single time. First time you were convinced Hiccup was going to hurl you off a cliff. Plus, you also were trying to convince me to go out with you. You told Hiccup "take Hookfang because I have a hot date". You were right about your date being hot. Second time you were being treated for burns the same three days it took for him to remake and retest your flight suit. Then the third time Tuff and I tied you up and basted up in chicken fat so you spent the entire day being chased by Nadders. Stormfly led the chase too. Fourth time I think was when you were again convinced you were dying because of Gustav and I since Tuff was home sick. This last time he tested it on Barf and Belch, Meatlug, Toothless, Stormfly, a few other dragons- including Gothi's Terrible Terrors, and then Hookfang. As much as we treated that guy like crap, he still tries to take care of us," Ruffnut explains.
"I'm also his number one. His successor," Snotlout boasts.
"If that means his cousin then that's also true," Ruffnut remarks.
"You know you're close to not getting a second date," Snotlout challenges.
"There was going to be a second date? After a month? Gee, I'm luckier than Astrid who gets a breakfast date after a dinner date with Hiccup the night before," Ruff teases.
"They act like a married couple. They might as well tie the knot. Gobber said something about needing to ask them when they were. I think he found out that they sneak out in the middle of the night. That and when either of them leave Berk without the other one they seem to take forever to say goodbye. As if they were never seeing each other again. I mean, after being apart of Dagur and Mala's wedding it can't be like they hate weddings. They made out during the ceremony! I still can't believe she chose him," Snotlout sulks.
"You were the one to fail the trials. Besides, no offense, but you'd e the crappiest king in the history of the world if you ended up winning the trials. She also seems happier with Dagur anyway. Besides, when Heather came to visit a few days ago Astrid and I thought it'd be a nice idea to do something as a group of girls and what not. Well, don;t tell anyone else, but Heather told us that Mala told her she was having a baby. She just didn't tell Dagur yet because she wasn't ready for all the excitement from him," Ruff reveals.
"I bet you that if they have a boy Dagur will suggest "Hiccup" and if it's a girl he'll suggest "Heather". I mean, it's Dagur and those are the names of his favorite people other than himself and her," Snotlout laughs.
"If she's in her right mind then she'd say no," Ruffnut responds. The two walk slowly outside. Their hands close to brushing against each other. Snotlout hesitates a moment before looking at Ruffnut again.
"So, it's been a year and a half since Fish-face and I fell- started fighting for you and your hand. If you had to choose between the both of us, who would you pick? And this will stay between us," Snotlout vows.
"When Tuffnut "married" Fishlegs and me, there was that feeling I could see in him that makes me wonder if he still loves Heather. I mean, he almost had a panic attack when Tuffnut announced that we were actually married. At least he wasn't actually because then I'd be Mrs. Fishlegs Ingerman and everyone on Berk would be telling me I need to start pushing out kids despite knowing I'd be a terrible mother. I prefer hearing my mom and her "better get married soon. I mean, I was at least engaged to your dad when I was your age" rather than "married two years and no kid? Better have them now before you're too old to have kids". I mean the feeling that he still likes Heather could be heartbreak because she started dating that guy that moved to Berserker Island about a year ago. Plus, he's also an easy pushover. He did everything I told him to do. I know you wouldn't. However, you're a giant flirt. So, I don't know. If I had an axe or crossbow to the head then probably you," Ruffnut responds.
"I knew it," Snotlout whispers to himself.
"You'd have to understand that if anything happened to Tuff, I'd be there for him because he's my twin brother. And I can't move from Berk without him," Ruffnut reminds him.
"I know. I remember that time you became a Wing Maiden and the time with Throck. I've also known you since you were born. And if you think about it, the both of us almost had to move to Defenders of the Wing Island. I almost became king and you almost married Throck," Snotlout remembers.
They walk not knowing where they were going. They only realize when Hookfang finds them. They fly around Berk feeling what they could only describe as what Hiccup and Astrid must feel when they fly around Berk during sunrise and sunset. The amount of love there seemed to be scared Ruffnut. Sure, Snotlout was a flirt and a piece of her worried that if someone as pretty as Heather or Astrid came along there was the feeling he'd leave her because because she'd been told by her brother that she wasn't pretty and no one made comments about how she was pretty like they did with Heather when she visited or when Astrid stood next to Hiccup. She tried her hardest to push away the thought, but it still haunted her. She was scared to ask anyone for advice because of the outcome. She wondered why she was scared. She hardly got scared. They reach the Thorston hoe and before she goes inside Snotlout takes her hands and kisses her on the cheek. She wasn't sure how long this slight nightmare was going to last, but she began thinking of ways to trick people praying she'd forget about her feelings if she could. She vowed to herself to not tell another soul or she'd risk heartache. One that could ruin a friendship. But deep down she loved Snotlout and no one could take that from her.