Authors Note: This is my first real attempt at a perception of Ruffnut/Fishlegs pairing. I'm fond of the both the character's in particular, and I think their chemistry is fun to portray and discuss.

My other pairing will make appearances, such as Hiccup and Astrid and my OC's. But the story predominantly focuses on Ruff and Fish ;) This is mainly more of a plot development/character study I'm doing to assist me in better understanding how I want things to flow in a much more event-packed romance I'm writing focusing on Hiccup/Astrid.

As for its progress; I will get there when I get there! Harrumph…

(The title and some of the developing metaphors for this fiction are inspired by the song 'Semi-Charmed Life' by Third Eye Blind. Go check it out, though I'm sure it may already be a recognizable tune! )

Read. Enjoy. Review. Write on, friends. Skinny-da-Pooh is OUUUT!

)))))))The beginning(((((((

Fishlegs sat trying to adjust the harness on his Gronckle, Meatlug. The large creature was refusing to sit still and Fishlegs was pleading with it.

"Come on, now, Meatlug, the sooner we finish we-Meatlug, now don't go that way...Meatlug, come back here this instant!"

"MEATLUG!" Ruffnut exclaimed ere the boisterous dragon trotted off.

Fishlegs jumped at the imposing sound of her voice. "I'm pretty sure they don't react to volume..." he began.

But the dragon had halted and was reluctantly loping uncoordinatedly back to where the two Vikings stood.

Fishlegs sighed. "Okay, I guess that did work. I was wrong." he said, apologetically.

Ruffnut grinned, flirtatious. "Oh, it isn't your fault. You aren't wrong, I'm just always right." she said, patting the Gronckle's nose.

Fishlegs looked to the ground, apprehensively. "You're right, I guess." he murmured.

Ruffnut looked to him quizzically. Was that some attempt at wittiness, she thought, incredulously. She laughed, but in a way Fishlegs had never heard before.

It wasn't her usual intimidating cackle, but instead a legitimate chuckle, to show that she genuinely found something to be funny.

Fishlegs blushed, and then scrambled forward to seize the Gronckle by the collar of the harness. "Uh, thanks again, Ru-Ruffnut." he said, dragging the dragon away with effort.

"Don't mention it. I mean, seriously, don't. The last thing I need is for somebody to think we're friends or something." she said, glancing away from him.

Fishlegs nodded vigorously. "Of course, my lips are sealed!" he guaranteed.

Ruffnut looked back to the Viking, appalled at his disability to understand her malice. If it had no affect on him, then why convey it? She thought.

"You know I'm kidding, right?" she said, crossing her arms.

A vacant expression crossed his face. "So, we are friends?" he asked, optimistic.

Ruffnut stared at him, and acknowledged his eagerness. So he wanted them to be friends, did he? Ruffnut shrugged. He was being sincere, and besides, what could it hurt?

"Yeah, sure, Fishlegs." she said passively, but managed a lopsided grin.

Fishlegs beamed. "I won't disappoint you!" he said.

Ruffnut laughed again, not being able to recall the last time anyone had so highly upheld a friendship with her. And she couldn't help but find it peculiarly flattering. But she quickly rebuked the notion, shaking it from her mind to clear her thoughts.

"See you later, 'kay?" she said, and swiftly ducked out of the entrance to the stables, leaving Fishlegs to gawk blissfully at her.

)))))))the transition(((((((

At the closing of another day, and in turn, another extensive collection of notes, Fishlegs closed the covers of his leather bound notebook, and walked with a decisive finality out of the Zippleback stable.

Peering up at the pink shade of the clouds, Fishlegs deduced it had to be the correct time for dinner, which in his case consisted of considerably larger portions and a long conversation with Hiccup about his latest theories.

The other's joined them; Astrid, Tuffnut, Ruffnut and Snotlout, but none of them could comprehend his ramblings, or if they did they hadn't a care in Midgard what Zippleback's do all day.

Fishleg's assumed the latter, but he didn't seem to mind their indifference if he could have at least a one person audience.

Strolling through the village with his notebook under his arm, he greeted the passers-by cordially and stopped to have small talk with other's he knew exclusively. His Gronckle followed him in an assiduous manner, only ever straying to pluck a ham-hock from some unsuspecting villager's supply.

But as he ventured further towards the designated meeting place chosen by his circle of friends, and he weaved through the village youth moving in pods, he couldn't help but note that there were less 'pods' and more 'pairs' than usual. And his observation was undoubtedly keen.

It was no surprise to see Hiccup and Astrid conversing hand-in-hand on their commute; they'd been an item for years now. But other couples were more new-fangled.

A blonde down the street from Fishleg's lodge was arm in arm with a tall burly red-head.

Snotlout was flirting, and astoundingly succeeding, as he was warranting quite a few giggles from the younger teenage females.

Tuffnut had finally decided to stop beating around the bush and publicly introduce Svenvella* as his girlfriend; which everyone had perceived as foreseeable nonetheless.

But most intriguing out of all the pairings and matches, was perhaps the lack thereof in one very singular case. Ruffnut Thorston, who had blossomed into a striking young woman over the years he had known her, stood twirling her wavy blonde hair between her fingers, looking more feminine in that moment than she ever had to Fishlegs; and he regretted she was alone.

He blue eyes flitted from person to person, as if sizing up their potential, and then returned to the familiar faces of her brother and friends, who had finally congregated to their meeting place at the entrance of the blacksmith stall. She finally looked over to Fishlegs as he approached, giving him an odd once-over and then averting her eyes hastily, as if hoping no one had noticed.

"Glad you could make it, Legs. I'm starving." Tuffnut jabbed, giving him an irritated look.

"You could have gone on without me." He pointed out, but their little group was already migrating towards the precipitous steps ascending to the Great Hall.

"Yeah, we could have…" Tuffnut reinstated, sliding an arm around Vella's thin waist.

Snotlout put an arm around Ruffnut, and ignored her obvious disdain.

"We wouldn't do that, Fish. Never leave a friend behind, right?" he said, glancing at Ruffnut for some sort of retort.

She responded by promptly elbowing him in the stomach and continuing up the stairs.

"I never want your armpit that close to my face again, 'friend'." She said, crossing her arms across her chest.

The group snickered as Snotlout lagged behind, clutching his abdomen in pain.

Fishlegs was already adjacent to Hiccup as they entered to illustrious doors of the Great Hall.

"-which I've discovered could be some kind of mechanism that duly connects both heads. And that's how they can both communicate telepathically and converse independently." Fishlegs rambled, ere they sat down at their customary table.

Astrid scoffed. "You're telling me that there is some kind of inner-link inside their bodies that makes everything work. And you suggest they can talk through it?" **

Hiccup shrugged, still apprehensive. "Hey, anything's possible." He said, being uncharacteristically optimistic.

Fishlegs continued, gesticulating excitedly with his mutton leg and barely registering the furtive glances he was inadvertently receiving from Ruffnut.

She picked at her food, being all but ignored by her brother as he sought to impress the other girl seated beside him, and Snotlout was absent at the moment, having been enthusiastically summoned by the aforementioned group of females. The remaining party of the table was otherwise preoccupied.

With a prolonged exhalation of sheer boredom, she rose abruptly from the table and left, crossing her arms and shaking her head hurriedly.

Everyone's heads simultaneously turned in shock, watching her depart with purposeful steps.

Astrid dismissed herself just as hastily, jogging behind Ruffnut.

Fishlegs observed them both leave, looking to Hiccup in utter befuddlement.

"That was… unexpected." Hiccup said, putting his elbow on the table, and resting his chin on his hand contemplatively.

"Have you noticed anything unusual about her lately?" he continued, gazing across the Hall at the conferring girls, who were discussing something quite heatedly.

Fishlegs placed his mutton leg onto the wooden platter with finality, and lacing his eyebrows together. Throughout the last few days, nothing had eluded him more significantly than Ruffnut's behavior, and he said so.

"Well, ever since she had that short fling with Splint, she's been really moody…err, more so than usual." Hiccup concluded, ere Fishlegs scoffed.

The mention of Splint as the culprit for Ruffnut's obvious misery instilled in him a seed of bitterness that he was at a loss to explain.

Fishlegs looked to his left, anticipating some contribution from her twin on the topic, but he had vanished.

Splint was the village rebel-rouser; and imagined to have been the perfect match for Ruffnut. Blunt and conceited, they shared none too many traits, but the spirit in which they displayed their actions was uncannily similar. ***

But Fishlegs would dispute that Ruffnut had more self-respect than the likes of Splint, and disliked any verbal association betwixt the two people, especially concerning any relationships they allegedly had had.

With a livid reverie, Fishlegs was soon lost from the conversation Hiccup appeared to be continuing by himself, and instead configuring the ambiguity of Ruffnut's melancholy and trying to find a solution…

-So I hope this was long enough/not too choppy/etc. Don't worry; this isn't the end! Next chapter will be up very soon! (I hope!)

* I will officially introduce Svenvella separately in another story/ several one shots, so don't be alarmed by the random inclusion of her in the story, but bear in mind that you won't need a lot of understanding of the pairing to get the story.

** Yes, Fishlegs is centuries ahead of his time and already theorizing about the nervous system… Astrid isn't a fan of modern science, obviously.

*** Not another random person, you will learn a lot more about him later ;) (Romantic intrigue!)