AN/Hello Fledglings! I know, you probably didn't expect to see me so soon :P. But lo and behold, I am back, and do I have a chapter for you! This one focuses mostly on Snotlout, but I had a really good time writing this, and I'm really pleased with how it came out. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Did I not state this is an AU?...
Snotlout took several deep breaths as he lowered his foot towards the ground. The second his boot hit the grass, he hissed, recoiling. A few Gronkle lengths away, Astrid gave him an amused look.
"Scared, Snotlout?" she asked, sliding off of Stormfly's back and walking to Hookfang's side. The Monstrous Nightmare rumbled, and Astrid grinned up at him. "Because Hookfang sure seems to think so."
"I am not," Snotlout muttered, though he wasn't sure who he was trying to convince. He dropped off of his dragon's back and took a few cautious steps. "It's just I haven't been back here in a while." Astrid frowned at him, and Snotlout flushed lightly, waving a hand. "Yeah, I know, we came back a few weeks ago, but that was when the twins set the village on fire and I didn't really have time to-"
"Your dad's back from his boating trip." The blond Dragon Rider didn't phrase her statement as a question.
Snotlout ducked his head, staring at his shaking hands. "Yeah. Just yesterday." Astrid was silent for a few seconds. Then she walked to Snotlout's side and clapped him on the shoulder, albeit much less force than she usually used.
"You'll be fine," she said quietly, giving him a reassuring smile. Snotlout sighed, then chuckled.
"Imagine what Hiccup would say if he saw us getting along," he said. Astrid smirked at him.
"Imagine what I would say if I saw you and Hiccup getting along. Every single day. Every single mission." Snotlout grimaced.
"Touché." Astrid laughed, and Snotlout sighed, rolling his eyes. "Can we get moving? If we don't get into town within the next minute, Fishlegs is gonna think we fell off a cliff or something." Without waiting for an answer, Snotlout started off towards the village, Hookfang lumbering along behind him.
"You know, I think you're picking up on Hiccup's habits," Astrid mused once she caught up. As they made their way up the slope that led to the main bulk of the village, she continued. "I don't remember you rolling your eyes a lot before. Or sighing when you get annoyed." Snotlout inhaled to sigh, but quickly stopped himself. "And Hiccup didn't smirk a lot before. That scares me."
"Yeah, well, we're scary people, Astrid." The lead Dragon Rider himself trotted out from behind a house and met Snotlout and Astrid at the edge of the main village. Hiccup grinned at the disgruntled blond, then looked to Snotlout, his expression turning serious. "Almost all the village has showed up to welcome us back." Hiccup's eyes dropped to the ground for a few seconds. "Including Spitelout."
Snotlout swallowed, forcing back his nerves. "Makes sense," he mumbled. "I'm sure Dad wants to see his dragon-riding son in all his glory." Snotlout chuckled weakly. "I think I left a few traits he's expecting behind on one of the last islands we explored."
"You do forget about Hookfang a lot," Astrid reminded, which made both Snotlout and Hiccup give genuine laughs.
"Don't worry, you'll only have to deal with Spitelout for a few minutes," Hiccup said, lifting a hand and resting it on Snotlout's shoulder. "And no, you won't be taking back your old room, not unless you want it. I've had Dad set up stuff in our old arena so we can room in there while we're here."
Snotluot tried his best to hold back his smile, as he had done so many times in past years. But it broke through, and gave Hiccup a genuine smile. "Thanks." The other Dragon Rider nodded, squeezing his shoulder gently.
"And I wondered why you were nervous about seeing your dad," Astrid muttered, and Snotlout laughed.
"Yeah yeah, I get it, Astrid. You're not helping." He took a deep breath, letting his muscles relax as best he could when he felt like curling into a ball and not moving until the moon came out. "Alright. Let's go greet the fans." Hiccup took his hand off of Snotlout's shoulder. With one last smile, he turned and led Snotlout and Astrid into the village.
They were immediately met with a hoard of cheering Vikings. Snotlout grinned and got into his act. After several shaking of hands and chatting with old family friends, he was starting to feel a little better. Then a voice boomed through the crowd and his queasy feeling returned in full force.
"Snotlout! There you are, my boy!" To Snotlout's dismay, the gathered Vikings parted to let his ecstatic father through. Spitelout charged forward, crashing a fist onto Snotlout's back and making his lungs shake in his ribcage.
"Hey dad," Snotlout wheezed, but his father shouted over him. Nothing new there.
"It's so good to see you again, boyo! We have to catch up while you're here! How long are you staying?" Snotlout opened his mouth to tell his dad just a couple of days, but Spitelout waved a hand. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. I'll make the most of every minute!"
"Sorry sir, but we need him first. We're not letting him skip out on his portion of work." Astrid, I owe you a crate of fish for Stormfly, Snotlout mentally promised the blond Dragon Rider as she trotted up and gave Snotlout a much needed save. Spitelout let go of him, and Snotlout tried to discreetly wheeze for breath. That was a hard feat, since he wasn't sure he had any lungs left.
Eventually, Astrid managed to drag Snotlout away from Spitelout with some excuse about setting up camp. Snotlout wasn't really too sure, he was too busy feeling relieved. Once Spitelout disappeared into the crowd, Snotlout let out a heavy sigh, and Astrid gave him a concerned look.
"This is gonna be a fun few days for you."
Snotlout allowed himself one more sigh, then straightened, shaking his head as if that could somehow help with his racing thoughts. "We'll see. How's camp coming?" Astrid grinned at him.
"Actually, we do need to set up, so it wasn't just an excuse." Snotlout cracked his knuckles.
"Great. Let's do this."
For the rest of the day, Snotlout managed to avoid his father in one way or another, although one time he nearly had a heart attack when someone who looked bore an extreme likeness to Spitelout walked into the dragon arena looking for a misplaced axe. Twice he hid in barrels, three times he had to dive behind the nearest house, and he was forced to pretend he wasn't having a civil conversation with Hiccup more times than he could count.
It wasn't that Snotlout was scared of his dad. Of course not, Snotlout only had a few fears that he kept to himself. But he knew that he had changed. Before the Island Incident, as he and the other Dragon Riders had taken to calling it, he had been a different person. Brash, blunt, and at times, extremely arrogant.
But once he had had that one heartfelt conversation with Hiccup, things had started to change. For one, he didn't feel the need to be so arrogant and impulsive, as he had always done it just to try to prove himself. After all, his father had always placed an impossible standard for him to live up to, and within the Dragon Riders, he had never quite earned their respect.
Hiccup had turned around his point of view. With the dark-haired Dragon Rider acknowledging the small things he did and Snotlout himself presenting what he thought in a less abrasive manner, slowly, the other Dragon Riders had seen Snotlout for who he had always hoped to be. Fishlegs didn't mock him if he didn't know something, and Astrid had started to open up to him. The twins didn't change much, but they didn't find his pain as amusing as they had before. Eventually, Snotlout had found himself surrounded by true friends.
But his dad wouldn't see it that way. Spitelout had never liked Hiccup, which was probably where some of Snotlout's initial distaste had come from, and knowing that Snotlout considered the one-legged teen a close friend would not be good for any of the Dragon Riders' health. In the past, Snotlout had developed the skill of acting when he wasn't feeling the way other Vikings saw him, and throughout the day, he had been forced to utilize it.
But Snotlout had found it was very hard to act like he didn't care about Hiccup when he truly did.
By the time the moon rose over the island, Snotlout was exhausted. His body had been worked to death first setting up camp in the arena, then doing chores for Vikings around the island. But his mind was overworked too. Constantly keeping an eye out for his father or literally any Viking he didn't know well was horrific.
Finally, Snotlout was released from gutting fish with Bucket and Mulch, and he limped back to the arena. He had several fresh cuts running along his hands, and his fingers were numb. He shuffled through the gate and collapsed on the bed of blankets and mats he had claimed as his own. The teen in the bed next to his jumped as Snotlout let out a weary moan, but relaxed after a few moments.
"I thought you would be back sooner," Hiccup said quietly, sitting up and placing the book he had been reading next to him. Snotlout gestured vaguely with one hand, and to his surprise, Hiccup caught it. "Where did you get these?" the other Dragon Rider asked, clearly concerned. Snotlout frowned. His brain was working much slower than it usually did, and he wasn't quite understanding Hiccup's words.
"What?" he asked eloquently. Hiccup heaved an irritated sigh, then ran his fingers along the cuts Snotlout sported. He winced, but didn't pull his hand away as he once would have. "Oh. Those. I guess it's been a long time since I've gutted fish. Well, more than one for dinner."
Hiccup's mouth formed a silent "O". He twisted to look at something Snotlout couldn't see, never letting go of his arm. When Hiccup turned back, he held a bottle with his free hand.
"Hold still," the other Dragon Rider ordered, but his voice was gentle. Snotlout grunted his understanding, shifting and closing his eyes. The initial sting of the salve burned on his open wounds, but he already drifted on the edge of an exhausted man's sleep. Hiccup's careful hands weren't enough to keep him awake. Snotlout fell asleep within seconds.
He was startled awake when he heard quiet footsteps echoing through the near silent arena. At first, Snotlout thought that Fishlegs, an early riser, had just gotten and was wandering around. He was about to roll over and pull his blanket tighter over his shoulders when a very familiar voice froze him in his tracks.
"Snotlout? Son?"
Snotlout immediately snapped to awareness, and his chest constricted. His father had snuck into the arena. His father was in the arena, standing a few Gronkle lengths away. Judging by the light sneaking over the top of the arena walls, it was barely sunrise. Thank Odin, Snotlout had his back to his father, but if Spitelout came any closer, he couldn't fake being asleep. How was he supposed to-
"Shh!" The sound was so unexpected, Snotlout frowned. Then he remembered he was supposed to be asleep and quickly arranged his features into a more passive look. Apparently, Spitelout was as surprised as he was, and he demanded,
"'Shh'?" But, Snotlout noted, in a quieter tone than he had been speaking with before.
"Yes, shh!" Hiccup repeated, this time with a bit more annoyance. "Snotlout is sleeping, can't you see that? Your call was so loud you woke me up."
There was stunned silence from Spitelout, and Snotlout suddenly found it hard to breath again. "Why would you care if I wake him up or not?"
"I care because it's harder than anything else to get Snotlout to do anything if he hasn't had a good night of sleep," Hiccup snapped, and Snotlout mentally applauded the dark-haired teen on his ability to act. "And I don't know about you, but I really don't want to be dragging a half asleep, complaining Snotlout around all day. Come back in a few hours, or just want until we come out to the main village."
Apparently, Spitelout decided that Hiccup had a point, as Snotlout heard receding footsteps a few seconds after Hiccup finished talking. He listened intently as the footsteps grew fainter and fainter. Eventually, he couldn't hear them anymore, but he waited until Hiccup said, "Alright, he's gone," before he relaxed his tense muscles, sprawling out on his blankets.
"That was too close," Snotlout moaned, shoving the palms of his hands into his eyes. "What am I going to do the next time he comes and I don't have you around?" He took his hands off his eyes and glanced over at Hiccup. "Nice acting skills, by the way. Very convincing."
Hiccup accepted the compliment with a gracious nod, then said, "Snotlout, maybe it's time you just talked to your dad." Snotlout's blood went cold, and he shook his head vigorously. Hiccup sighed, laying back down and putting his hands behind his head. "Alright. But you and I both know this is only going to get worse the longer you let it drag on."
Snotlout did know, and the thought haunted him the entire time he got ready for his day. He knew the rest of his friends, well, Astrid and Fishlegs anyways, as the twins were still fast asleep, could tell he was nervous, as they mostly kept conversations between themselves. Snotlout was appreciative of that. His brain didn't need to be stretched even more.
But as they headed into the main village, Hiccup somehow managed to draw Snotlout out of his shell and get him talking. Even as he walked through the village, Snotlout marveled at the other Dragon Rider's ability to get him to talk or laugh even when he didn't want to at all. And laugh he did. Snotlout was right in the middle of snickering at Hiccup's last comment when a voice boomed through the village.
"Snotlout!"
His blood ground to a stop, and Snotlout suddenly had a strange feeling of déjà vu. He swallowed, then turned slowly.
Spitelout was standing at the other end of the plaza, grinning widely. Then his eyes drifted over Snotlout and his companions. They landed on Snotlout's hands, and his excited expression faded. It was replaced by one of rage, and he marched through the crowd, the Vikings in his path shuffling back. Even Astrid and Fishlegs took a few steps Hiccup didn't. The dark-haired teen stuck next to Snotlout, and he took an unconscious step closer to Toothless' rider's side.
"Where did you get those cuts?" Spitelout demanded, sticking out a hand and pointing accusingly at Snotlout's arms. He looked down, paling as he stared at the cuts that traced patterns along his knuckles and the back of his hands and wrists. His words suddenly failed him, and his brain went blank. How was he going to explain that he couldn't gut more than ten fish?
"He got them helping out around the village." Snotlout blinked. He gave Hiccup an incredulous look, as did the assembled crowds and Spitelout. The dark-haired Dragon Rider gave Snotlout a steady look, and he felt his heartbeat slow to a normal pace. Hiccup was giving him a chance to get this over with. Time to rip the bandage off.
Snotlout took a deep breath, then turned to face his father himself. "Yeah, while I was gutting fish," he said, as if he was just telling his dad how his day had gone. Spitelout reeled back, his face the picture of shell-shocked. Snotlout tried his best to imprint that expression in his memory forever. Absolutely priceless.
"But those cuts you only get from your hand slipping," Spitelout protested. Snotlout shrugged.
"That's how I got them. I'm not used to gutting so many, just a few for dinner."
The assembled Vikings watched in silence, their eyes flicking from Spitelout to Snotlout then back again to Spitelout. Snotlout got the feeling they were treating this very personal event like their morning entertainment. Finally, Spitelout seemed to recover, and he advanced on Snotlout with an irritated expression.
"Alright, son, I want to know what's going on. You've been avoiding me all this time you've been here, you can't remember how to gut a fish, what else happened?"
"Technically, he remembers how to gut a fish, he just can't do it over and over and over again," Hiccup put in cooly. Spitelout whipped around to the dark-haired Dragon Rider with a furious expression, but Hiccup met it calmly.
"Nothing from you," Spitelout snarled. "I don't even know why you think you can take part in this conversation. It's between me and my son. Got it?"
Snotlout scowled. If it had been anyone else talking to Hiccup like that, he would have punched them out already. Clearly, he couldn't do that to his father, but he wasn't just going to stand by.
"Hey," he snapped, stepping between a steaming Spitelout and a calm Hiccup. "Don't you touch him, or I will punch you. I don't care if you're my father."
At that, all the Vikings gave a collective "Ooh!". Then it morphed into a shocked silence. Snotlout was too busy focusing on his father to look around at the other Vikings standing nearby, but he imagined they looked just like Spitelout did.
"Er- uh-" His father could only get out a few splutters. Snotlout squared his shoulders, then turned to grabbed Hiccup's arm, dragging his fellow Dragon Rider away from Spitelout.
"C'mon guys," he called over his shoulder to Astrid and Fishlegs. "I want breakfast." The two Dragon Riders just stared at him, and Snotlout grunted in annoyance, nodding with his head. They finally snapped out of their trances and hurried to catch up.
"I think you just made things worse for yourself," Hiccup noted quietly, grinning faintly. Snotlout shrugged.
"I don't care. At least now I can walk around town without looking over my shoulder every two seconds." Snotlout frowned. "Wait, that's not true." He gave Hiccup a panicked look. "Hiccup, my father is actually going to kill me once the shock wears off."
Snotlout was a little disgruntled by Hiccup's laughter. He didn't think his dying was a laughable subject.
Thanks for reading this chapter! Do let me know what you thought as I really want feedback for this one. Thanks to Dimensional Phaser, Dannrose, and hixup for reviewing though, you guys are epicly awesome! I have a lot of ideas bouncing around my brain, so stay tuned. Until next time, Bird out!
