Thanks to Thursday26 for the brilliant edit.

This first one is set in the very early days on the Edge.

A quiet day is always nice.

There's been a lot of work done on the Edge since they settled in, and although there's still a lot left to be done, their huts are established enough that there's time and space to plan the rest of the living and working space. Today's a day off: Hiccup's quietly sketching out a modification to the locking mechanism for the dragon cages, Toothless sprawled boneless in the thick slab of sunlight laid out in a neat oblong on the wooden floor of their living quarters. Hiccup almost wants to push aside the invention and go lick his friend's stomach, or sprawl on top of him in the warm sun and press his ear against his heart and hear him purring, but duty calls. If he can get the mechanism to unlock from the inside, something that can be manipulated by a dragon's claw, then the dragons can…

A familiar shadow falls across the square of sunlight, standing in the doorway obliquely visible to Hiccup's left. Snotlout, Hiccup recognizes – fifteen years of bullying teach you to walk with the sun behind you and recognize people by their shadow. They also teach you to keep doing what you're doing until the other person makes the first move.

But Snotlout's not his bully anymore, and Hiccup's not the victim he once was. Not by a long shot. Still, Hiccup keeps watching the shadow. It's… agitated? It's certainly fidgeting a lot. Toothless burbles, turning slightly, but still relaxed. It can't be anything too serious, then. Snotlout probably thinks Hiccup can't see him, the way he's fidgeting, wringing his hands and what looks like rubbing the back of his neck. Hiccup keeps his head down and his sketching steady, waiting. It wouldn't be the first time his cousin has appeared at his door - here or back on Berk - and then disappeared without saying a word.

But not this time. Eventually, Snotlout huffs out a breath and arranges himself in a carefully casual pose, elbow on the doorframe. "Hiccup," he says, voice tight.

Hiccup adds in a line to the detail of the lock mechanism. Toothless flips from his back to his side – of course he's been observing too, but he follows Hiccup's lead. "Yeah, Snotlout?"

Snotlout's still trying for casual, but his breath is coming hard. He strides forward, fists clenched. "I'll knock your block off if you tell anyone about this."

Hiccup rolls his eyes. Only Snotlout. He looks backward at his cousin. "First of all, you haven't told me what it is yet, and second, what are we, six?"

"I mean it." Snotlout visibly clenches his fists tighter. "This is private."

"Oh-kay." Hiccup turns fully on his workbench and gestures to a stool. "Shall I tell Toothless to go?"

Snotlout glances at the dragon out of the corner of his eye. "No, he might help."

If Hiccup wasn't curious before, he is now. "Okay, you have my attention. What's up?"

Snotlout takes a deep breath and purses his lips, letting it out a little at a time with his cheeks puffed up as if he's inflating a sheep's bladder. Hiccup waits. Snotlout perches on the edge of the stool as if it might burn him, fidgeting. Finally, he looks down at the floor and mutters, "You and Toothless have this thing going on."

Toothless' head jerks up, pupils narrowed. He grumbles low in the back of his throat. Hiccup blushes bright red and folds his arms. "Uh... wha-what do you mean?"

Snotlout keeps his eyes fixed on the floor. "The thing. It's like when you do the hand thing." Snotlout shakes his head and gestures vaguely in the air in front of him. "It's where… where you... you don't control the dragon…" He sounds like he's trying very hard to stay mad – at who, or what, Hiccup has no idea. "You don't – you don't control the dragon at all! You're just… uh." Snotlout breathes in deeply, then deflates. "Nice to him?"

"Oh." Hiccup laughs nervously, the blush draining from his face. He feels himself relax, leaning back with one elbow on the table. Toothless purrs and settles. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess?"

"But you're supposed to control a dragon!" Snotlout says in a rush.

"Says who?"

Snotlout looks down. "My... my dad," he tells the floorboards.

Hiccup sags. He should have known, really, all things considered. Toothless growls, low and disapproving. Snotlout's still looking down, not meeting their eyes. "So… Spitelout says you have to control your dragon," Hiccup recaps slowly. This is dangerous ground. If anyone says something that might be interpreted as remotely insulting to Snotlout's father, they're risking a punch in the face. So he waits.

"Yeah!" Snotlout's gaze snaps up and he nods eagerly, seeming pleased that Hiccup gets it. "He says they're like mules or yaks—" Toothless growls and Snotlout grimaces. "No offense, Toothless."

Seeing a chance for positive reinforcement, Hiccup pounces on it. "Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"The way you just talked to Toothless!" Hiccup goes on, vindicated. He's a little surprised at his own excitement. "With respect."

"I guess so," Snotlout mutters with a grudging glance at Toothless.

"OK, so—" Toothless sits up on his haunches and puffs up his chest. "Not helping, ya vain reptile!" Hiccup darts a look at him, rolling his eyes, then turns back to Snotlout, face serious. "-Would you say you respect Hookfang?"

Snotlout shakes his head rapidly, flushing. "I don't know!"

Toothless slumps, shaking his head and draping a paw over his face. Hiccup can't help an eyeroll. "It's a yes or no question, Snotlout."

"He's an animal!" Snotlout argues.

"We're animals too," Hiccup shoots back, voice even.

"We're human animals," grumbles Snotlout, "that's different."

"Not that different," Hiccup says as Toothless pads up to head-butt him, crooning. Now that is different from Snotlout's dragon. Hiccup wraps an arm around his neck.

"My dad says he's like a mule," Snotlout says in a rush.

"And what do you think?"

Snotlout's lips suddenly tighten and he blurts, rapid-fire, "He says I'm like a mule too."

Hiccup will count it as one of his heroic deeds to be sung in Valhalla, a feat far harder than defeating the Red Death: that, on this day in Midgard, he, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, did not make any of the obvious jokes supporting Spitelout's parallel. He swallows every smart-alec comeback, and instead says evenly, "Sounds like your dad thinks you have stubbornness issues."

"Nah, he thinks I need to be whipped into shape," Snotlout mutters. The corner of his mouth pulls up, like he's trying for a smile, but it comes out more like a grimace. There's a completely unexpected pang in Hiccup's chest and he feels his fist clench at his side. Next to him, under his other arm, Toothless stills.

For a long moment, Snotlout freezes, like he can't believe that came out of his mouth. Then his hand darts out to grab Hiccup's collar. "And if you ever tell anyone I said that, so help me, pipsqueak-!"

Toothless screeches a warning, standing on his hind legs and spreading his wings. Hiccup hurriedly waves him off as Snotlout shrinks back slightly.

Hiccup holds up both hands for peace, but he finds his heart filling with a sort of wry amusement. It finds its way into his face in a smile. Hiccup keeps his hands up until Snotlout releases him. Finally, Snotlout settles back into his stool with his hands in his lap.

"'Pipsqueak,' huh," Hiccup says, trying to coax his wry smile into something more genuine. "Haven't heard that one in a while. Brings back memories." That was a mistake; he was trying to lighten the mood, but it falls flat. He feels his face harden. "Not the best memories." Hiccup grimaces, then smoothes out his face with visible effort. "You know, Snotlout, sometimes it isn't the best idea to try to control people." There's a faint chuff from Toothless. "Or dragons."

Snotlout keeps his head up for as long as he can; then he slumps. His shoulders droop and he lowers his head, looking down at his lap. Slowly, he shakes his head, his frown turning perplexed. "But then how do you keep them in line?"

"You have to work with them." Toothless butts Hiccup gently and Hiccup brings his face close to his snout with a soft smile. "You respect him, he respects you," he murmurs, Toothless nodding along as they rub their cheeks together. Then he straightens to face Snotlout again. "You're partners. You make decisions together."

Snotlout rubs the back of his neck. "That doesn't make any sense." His words are harsh, but they carry no weight, like he doesn't believe what he's saying.

"Not if you've spent your whole life," Hiccup's voice is very soft, "either being controlled or trying to control someone else." He's not patronizing, and there's no trace of mockery in his tone. Snotlout has raised his eyes, though his head is still down, and is listening to Hiccup intently. The moment feels fragile, and Hiccup keeps his voice down to a whisper, afraid it will shatter. "It's hard at first. Change is hard. It's the hardest thing."

Toothless quarks and rolls his eyes. Hiccup meets his eyes, shakes his head and grins ruefully. "I wish I had words of wisdom. 'Change is hard', what kind of wisdom is that?" he adds, with a self-deprecating chuckle.

Snotlout waves a hand, still grimacing like someone is twisting his arm. "And that's another thing. You - you can laugh at yourself!"

Hiccup's shoulders pull up in an awkward shrug. "Well, you gotta admit I do dumb things sometimes," he grins.

"If you laugh at yourself," Snotlout recites flatly, "you lose people's respect."

"That's another one of your dad's things, isn't it?"

Snotlout bristles, but his voice is strained. "Don't you say a word about my dad!" he protests thinly. He stands and takes a step toward Hiccup, clearly intending to loom over him the way he did when they were kids.

Without fanfare, Hiccup gets to his feet too. Hiccup is almost a head taller now, and instead of being intimidating, Snotlout is left craning his neck to stare up at him. He swallows, mortified. "You… I…"

Hiccup steps back so he isn't looming, and softens his voice. "Snotlout." He can placate a Whispering Death; Snotlout is child's play. "No-one's attacking your dad. But he wants you to be your own man, someday, right?"

Snotlout stills. Slowly, he deflates. He scrapes a toe on the floorboards, looking down. "Yeah, I... I guess."

"Your dad's a great man. For his time." Toothless starts purring softly, Hiccup guesses as a soothing gesture for Snotlout. "We live in a different world now. It's not all dragon raids or kill and be killed anymore." Hiccup chooses his words carefully, sensing the fragility of this moment, intuiting that this moment will influence Snotlout for years to come. "He's not a bad person. But you don't have to be him. He thinks like that, because that's how he was raised. But you don't have to. You can respect and admire your dad without being a copy of him." Toothless burbles approvingly. "People are different, Snotlout, and that's okay. It's okay not to follow in his footsteps." Hiccup feels his voice drop to an urgent whisper. "It's okay to be your own man."

If Snotlout wasn't standing between Hiccup and the door, silhouetted in the square of light, Hiccup would have missed the faint tremor that runs through him. For a long time, there's nothing but the sound of Toothless purring. Finally, Snotlout moves. His hand rises to his cheek and flicks something away. "If you tell anyone about this..."

"You'll knock my block off," Hiccup sighs, a friendly smile on his face. "I remember."

Snotlout takes a step back, then another. Hiccup steps back as well, then lowers himself to sit at his workbench. He takes his time turning around, getting his legs tucked under the table and picking up his half-finished schematic. Gradually, Toothless settles next to him, half-on, half-off the seat, looking over his shoulder at his drawing. Hiccup's absorbed enough that he startles as he hears a mumbled "Thanks" from his cousin.

By the time he looks up, Snotlout is gone.