Ruffnut never wanted to be tied down. Her whole life the only person she needed by her side was her brother. And though he was a pain in her ass, he was always enough. The fun they had together could never be matched with anyone both on or outside of Berk. And so what was the point in trying? Tuffnut could give her the same companionship a husband would. The only thing she couldn't get from him were children, and Odin knew that was the last thing she wanted. Scratch that, that wasn't even the last thing she wanted. She just didn't want it. Ever.

But then they got older and things... Things started to change in ways Ruffnut never imagined.

Tuffnut hadn't found the Astrid to his Hiccup. He said he was quite content on his own, and if Ruffnut ever found someone she shouldn't hesitate to follow her heart ("or other areas" he had added with a wink). Snotlout wouldn't admit that he had found his, but everyone else knew the truth. As for Ruffnut and Fishlegs...

Now, when her mind drifts to Fishlegs, a soft half-smile pulls at her lips. No one had anticipated they actually end up together.

After Fishlegs and Heather realized they belonged in two different places, their responsibilities with two different tribes, Fishlegs had put on a brave face. The other riders had been so impressed with how well he had taken the blow. But Ruffnut could smell a ruse from an ocean away.

She had to admit, he was good; he even had Tuffnut fully convinced before long. Eventually, Ruffnut started to think that maybe he was okay with how everything turned out.

But then she caught him.

It was after the gang had returned from fighting the Dragon Hunters in yet another raid. The raids had grown more and more frequent, and the gang was taking what little time they could to rest. Ruffnut woke in the middle of the night and decided to take a stroll through the Edge to pass the time, maybe set some pranks for Snotlout to wake up to in the morning. She was contemplating what would be the best way to release the boars into Snotlout's hut when a quiet whimpering reached her ears.

She glanced towards the sound and found herself staring at the outer wall of Fishlegs' hut. She thought it was Meatlug whimpering and figured Fishlegs was about to comfort her. But when she turned to walk around the back of the hut, Meatlug looked up at her curiously, wondering what woke her. Ruffnut cocked her head to the side, mirroring the curious tilt of Meatlug's face. If Meatlug was out here, then who-

The whimpering came again from inside the hut. Ruffnut stood perfectly still, considering whether to enter or not. She wasn't exactly someone to jump on the opportunity to be a shoulder to cry on. But hearing the pathetic sound coming from Fishlegs gave her a weird twinge in her chest that she was not fond of.

Meatlug huffed at Ruffnut, calling for her attention. She turned to the dragon, who gave a playful growl before looking towards the hut, then to Ruffnut, then back to the hut. Her gaze then settled on Ruffnut expectantly.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going, I'm going. Pushy dragon," she muttered, turning back to walk to the front of the hut.

She stopped in front of the door. Should she knock? She shrugged and pushed the door open. Knocking wasn't her forte. "Uh... Fishlegs? You alright?"

She looked around the dim room, lit only by a single torch in a holder by the door. Her eyes found a desk in the back corner. She hadn't noticed Fishlegs was leaned over it until she heard a sniff from the same corner and saw the dark shadow of a body snap upright. "Ruffnut? What're you doing here?"

She shrugged, standing awkwardly in the doorway. "Figured you could use some company."

He wiped the wetness from his face and stood, walking to a trunk near his bed and avoiding eye contact. "Why are you even up?"

"Just woke up," she said, eyeing him carefully. "What's wrong?"

"Yeah right, like you really care." He rummaged through the trunk for a blank parchment and a charcoal stick before shuffling back to the desk and plopping into the chair.

Ruffnut considered his statement while he began to scribble furiously in the dark. While he was mostly correct, and she wasn't exactly someone who cared a whole lot about other people's feelings, well... She wasn't heartless either. "If you want me to go, then I'll go. I just thought you might want someone to talk to. You're my friend, Fishlegs. I actually do care when my friends are hurt."

The scribbling slowed until Fishlegs dropped the charcoal, feeling defeated. Ruffnut waited patiently.

The room was silent for quite some time before Fishlegs shook his head. "I know she needed to go with her brother. I get that. She had the chance for a family for the first time - a real family, her blood family - and that's something she's been looking for since she was young."

Ruffnut wanted to offer something along the lines of "brothers aren't that great" but knew she didn't mean it, and also knew it wouldn't help, so she held her tongue.

Fishlegs opened his mouth to speak, but pursed his lips. He took a deep breath before whispering, "Is it awful of me to wish she would realize she hated her brother?"

Ruffnut pouted her lip in consideration. "I mean, yeah, kind of."

Fishlegs turned in his chair to face her now in exasperation. His face quickly dissolved into annoyance and disapproval. "Gee, thanks for that. You're great at this advice stuff." He rolled his eyes and turned back to his parchment.

Ruffnut simply shrugged, unfazed. "I could lie to you, but that wouldn't help either. Besides, we all know how you feel about Heather. Just because what you feel is awful, doesn't mean it's not justified."

Fishlegs didn't answer, but she knew he was listening. Despite holding the charcoal to the parchment, no scribbling could be heard. When he didn't move, she continued.

"For example: Tuffnut and I love to mess with Snotlout. Like, all the time. Literally on the daily. In the worst ways we can come up with. Is that awful? I mean, Hiccup thinks so. Is it justified? Heck yeah it is! Snotlout's an asshole!"

She didn't hear it, but she saw the quick bounce of his shoulders, indicating a small chuckle. She carefully ventured further into the hut, walking towards the shriveled boy in the dark corner to lean her backside against the desk next to him.

"You cared about Heather a lot. Maybe even loved her, I don't know, I'm no romantic. And yeah, we all miss her, but you had a connection with her that we didn't. No one blames you for missing her. And no one blames you for those feelings coming out a little more violent than usual." She nudged his shoulder with her fist. He looked up at her with a withering look in his eyes. "It just means you care. A lot. And that's far from awful."

He nodded and looked back down to the parchment in front of him. "I guess," he replied quietly.

"It's sweet."

Ruffnut wasn't sure why she said it, and she didn't realize she actually had until after the words rolled off her tongue. Fishlegs looked up, his eyebrows furrowed but a small smile across his lips. "Thanks, Ruff."

She just smiled and nodded. "You should get some sleep, you know. I'm sure Hiccup is hatching some great plan to get back at Viggo and Krogan. Might as well get the rest while we still can."

They said their goodnights to each other and Ruffnut slipped back into the darkness, taking a deep breath. "Well that was terrible," she said to herself, walking back towards her hut. The boars would have to wait; that heartfelt discussion thoroughly wore her out.

Though she had to admit, it was pretty nice.

And from that night on, the friendship between Fishlegs and Ruffnut only grew. It honestly did start as just a close friendship. Ruffnut had no interest in romance; Fishlegs just always made her feel comfortable. By the time the group moved back to Berk permanently, the only person closer to Ruffnut than Fishlegs was her own twin brother.

It wasn't until the dragons left that the friendship grew into something more. Fishlegs was always so lost, often wandering around the village aimlessly, staring off into space and shuffling sadly by. It honestly broke Ruffnut's heart, especially when she caught his hand absentmindedly raising to pat Meatlug's rough skin, only to pet air. With no dragons to study, he never knew where to go or what to do. He often helped Hiccup with all the plans for buildings and inventions for New Berk, but Hiccup had a long list of other things he had to do throughout the day as well, and eventually a wife to go home to. When Fishlegs wasn't with Hiccup, he just... Wasn't present. Physically he was, but the distant look in his eyes confirmed that he just wasn't with it.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut both would try to pull Fishlegs into their daily fun, but Fishlegs' heart just wasn't in it. Tuffnut shook it off quickly, unfazed because he didn't really think Fishlegs would be up to it anyway. After all, Ruffnut was the one that suggested they try to include him. But Ruffnut refused to give up on him that quickly. So whenever her brother was distracted, she would wander the village until she found Fishlegs and simply pull him over to Meade Hall or over to the cliffs and just talk. They talked about everything. Events in the village, occasional gossip, how Hiccup and Astrid are doing as Chief and Chieftess, the next crazy stunt Tuff and Ruff were planning, Tuffnut's beard, Snotlout's complicated love life, eventually Zephyr... They never ran out of things to talk about, both trivial and important. And the more they talked, the more personal their discussions got.

Ruffnut could never pinpoint the exact moment she fell in love, but when she finally realized it, there was no turning back. And the moment she realized was the one should could remember in perfect detail.

They were back on their cliff, a little outcropping carved into the side of the rock with a complicated pathway leading down to it that took the two several moon cycles to memorize. They preferred this place to escape to because no one else knew where it was. It gave them a sense of privacy in secrecy. And before long, they found themselves escaping daily, typically right around sunset.

Fishlegs was talking about a new species of plant he had found while hiking along the island, comparing it to other plants he had found across the Archipelago and musing at different potential uses for it. Ruffnut caught herself smiling at the way Fishlegs spoke so enthusiastically. He spent so long after the dragons left being forlorn that she forgot how happy and carefree he could be. Seeing him like this again made her heart soar; she knew he had finally moved on and was accepting the new life after the dragons, one of the last on New Berk to do so. But that was okay. Fishlegs loved the dragons more than anyone, save Hiccup.

The more Ruffnut saw the old Fishlegs returning in just that conversation, the more she found her gaze drifted to his lips. She had a feeling, deep in her chest, that she couldn't quite describe. A type of longing she wasn't familiar with. He held out a card in his hand, showing her a sketch of the plant he was discussing. She took the opportunity to scoot closer until their shoulders were brushing against each other to admire the work Fishlegs had done.

She made an honest effort to examine the card he held out, but it wasn't long before her eyes drifted to his hand... Up his arm... Past his elbow... Across his biceps... Over his shoulder...

Her eyes met his, inches away. Their noses bumped together, causing the two to pull back. But to the surprise of them both, they pulled back only enough to prevent touch, as if a string was pulling them together. Fishlegs tilted his head ever so slightly, just a twitch, wanting to close the distance but not having the guts to.

But that almost imperceptible twitch of the head blew that urge inside Ruffnut to unresistable proportions. She tilted her head and closed the distance in a quick and smooth motion, praying to the gods Fishlegs wouldn't react negatively.

But when she felt him melt into her, his soft lips moving effortlessly against hers with no hint of hesitation, a warmth bloomed in Ruffnut's stomach. It seeped into her chest and touched her heart in a way she was not familiar with. The relief that swept over them both from finally giving in after years of wondering if this is what they were meant to be only made the feeling sweeter, stronger. And she knew she never wanted it to end.

When the two finally broke apart, breathlessly and wordlessly shocked yet comfortably delighted, they didn't speak. Neither needed to; Ruffnut simply leaned her head against Fishlegs' chest as he sat against the rock wall behind him, admiring the woman beside him whom he realized was so much more beautiful than the sunset outside their hideaway. They both closed their eyes and simply enjoyed each other's company in a way they never had before, knowing their relationship would never return to the platonic place it had previously been. And neither was upset about that fact.

Had it not been for the chilly wind cutting through their clothing as the darkness of night swept over the land, they would have stayed there until the morning sun announced the time to begin work once again. They milked every last second they could before giving into the shivering and admitting it was time to go home.

Ruffnut sighed, wishing they had simply brought a blanket or some supplies for a small fire so they could stay; the thought had never occured to either of them before.

Fishlegs smiled and kissed Ruffnut's hair. "We can come back tomorrow, you know."

Ruffnut scoffed. "And then we have to go home afterwards again."

The smile on Fishlegs' lips widened, glad that she was also upset about the little detail. "Yeah, I guess we would."

Ruffnut reached up to hold Fishlegs' hand that was resting on her shoulder and turned her head deeper into the skin of his shoulder, enjoying his personal scent that rolled off of him. Her eyes fluttered open and the words tripped out of her mouth before she thought them through. "Let's get married."

Fishlegs was quiet for a moment, long enough that Ruffnut regretted being so bold (a first, to be honest). "Really?" he finally said.

Ruffnut couldn't decide if this was a good or bad question. "Yeah. I mean, if you want. It's not like we haven't already been married before," she added with a laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood and hide her anticipation for his answer.

He chuckled, remembering the accidental Viking Union ceremony they thought was binding for a day back on the Edge. His smile widened again, and spoke softly. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

Ruffnut's heart raced at his words. "Is that a yes, then?"

Fishlegs kissed her hair and held her tight. "Yes. I would be overjoyed to marry you. Again."


The comment about the accidental Viking union ceremony is a reference to the Netflix owned series Dragons: Race to the Edge Season 2, Episode 5 "Snotlout Gets the Axe."