Chapter 10

Tighter Than A Bug's Ass

"You see, we are here, as far as I can tell, to help each other; our brothers, our sisters, our friends, our enemies. That is, to help each other and not hurt each other."

-Stevie Ray Vaughan

I'm not sure what caused me to buy the steel nails today, but though they were a little more expensive, they were far more reliable than the iron ones were.

I made a point to purchase these steel nails for roofing jobs. It cut the time down considerably. Where roof repairs often took me up to three or four hours to complete, this one was going smooth. I was more than halfway done about an hour into the job.

I heard Snotlout let out a "Whooop!" and I heard Hookfang fly quickly overhead. He was high enough for me to lose interest and go back to work.

On a job that was similar to this one, I charged three gold for the entire thing, but given the fact that I was using these nails now, I made sure to charge more to compensate, or I'd be taking a loss.

Five gold was almost too much to ask for this homeowner. He tried to heckle me a little bit over it. If I'd charged him like they do where I'm from, he'd be singing a different tune about the five gold.

That man was tighter than a bug's ass, honestly...

Snotlout flew over me again with another "Whoooooop!" and this time I heard my ladder fall over. He turned Hookfang around and came back, and for a moment I thought he was going to put the ladder back up for me.

He didn't. I don't know why I thought he would.

"Wow, nice work on that roof there, friend!"

"Yeah, great. Why don't you get off your pet and put that ladder back up so I can get down?"

"I will if you beg."

"How about you just do it so I don't have to hammer some of these nails through your eyes?"

"I don't know how you'd manage that, since you're over there and I'm over here."

"Will you please put the ladder back up for me, Snotlout?"

"You're not begging. I want to hear begging."

"Not in this life, asshole. Put the ladder back up."

He grinned stupidly at me. I smacked the roof with my palm.

"Do it!"

He didn't say anything else, and just flew off. I was completely speechless, and just sort of stared into the distance for a while. Eventually I focused on the roof again, and after I finished about forty five minutes later, I spent more time hanging around. I started wondering if, should this kind of thing happen at home, I could take Snotlout to court over the interruption of a business. Such a thought, of course, made me think of home, mainly my family, and then I wanted to punch something.

The twins saw me on the roof, and when I asked them to put the ladder back up, they laughed at me and left, so that put them on my shit-list. Fishlegs saw me on the roof, too, but I didn't ask him and he didn't help. He was probably afraid he'd get a splinter or something, anyway.

Then there was a multitude of other Vikings that passed by without helping, and I was stuck on this roof for the better part of the afternoon before Hiccup showed up and kindly righted the ladder for me.

I was overwhelmed with relief once my feet touched the ground again.

"Thanks," I said.

"Sure, but... what happened?"

"Snotlout happened."

Hiccup sighed.

"He's got to stop," he said. I nodded.

"Well, here. Let me help you out."

Without me saying anything, Hiccup took the hammer and nails, and he even put an arm out to help me carry the ladder. Thanks to him, I didn't have to make a trip back to the house. Guy wasn't home, anyway, and I was already paid.

"Thanks again," I said.

"No problem, Rick. Why don't you come fly with me again?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No, I should try to get another project in."

"Come on, please?"

I stared. "Why me?"

"Why not you?" he countered.

"I don't know..."

"You went with me yesterday, so why not today?"

"Because."

"You know I won't take that as an answer."

I was silent again. Hiccup patted my shoulder.

"Come on, let's go. If we find Snotlout in the air, we'll teach him a lesson," he offered.

I was quiet again, but I slowly found myself following Hiccup.

"That's the spirit!" he said. Once again I was led to the house, and Toothless smiled over to me.

Hello again.

"Is it normal to hear a voice?" I asked lowly. Hiccup nodded.

"I told you, Toothless can talk to you if he wants to. Here, want to help me set him up?"

I shrugged. He pointed to the saddle.

"Just place it on his back between his wings. There are belts at the front and back of the saddle that clip around his belly. Don't make them too tight, though."

Please don't. It makes it tough to breathe, and I'll regurgitate my lunch... Unless you're hungry?

I thought he was joking, but the look on his face told me he was dead serious.

"No."

Let me know if you change your mind.

The belts were tough to clip, because I found it difficult to wrap my arms around Toothless at this awkward angle. He was still very patient with me.

When I was done, Hiccup checked it over, and nodded.

"Good job, Rick."

"It's belt tightening. I can't really screw it up," I muttered.

"Come on, let's get into the air."

So it was that I would again accompany Hiccup and Toothless on a flight. Again, the takeoff nearly sent me to the ground.

"So, Rick... let me ask you something."

"Yes."

He smiled over his shoulder at me.

"How do you like Berk?"

"It's cold, snowy, and the food is bland. Reminds me of home."

"That reminds me, where are you from? You never really talk about home."

I had a few options here: I could just ignore the question, but then I'd be digging myself into a deeper hole. If I answered honestly, it'd give rise to a multitude of other questions, which would probably hurt me. I could lie, but if I mentioned a land that did not exist, I'd lose Hiccup's trust. I thought about it a little more, and I figured out a possible tie-in between options two and three: who is to say that there is such a thing as Colorado here?

"I'm from somewhere cold," I said.

"By chance, are you from Kamui?" he asked.

"I am," I lied. I felt bad at that point, as if part of me wilted from the simple fib.

I don't know why. It was only Hiccup... but there was something about him that made anything less than being honest feel bad. I'd known the guy for what felt like months, and at the same time I knew next to nothing about him. When was his birthday? What did he like to do other than this? What's his favorite food?

Moreover, why the fuck did I care? Why did it matter to me that I lied to Hiccup and Toothless? I've been at best cold to everybody on the island. Here I was, being taken for another flight even though I didn't even want to go... I should be furious.

I should be... but I wasn't. The smallest piece of my subconscious was enjoying these sessions. Admittedly, there is something about it... having your legs dangle in the air, between the wings of a dragon, no less, I guess there's more to it for me than "It's alright", or whatever nonsense I'd muttered the day prior.

"Wow, I've never met anyone from Nippon before. I take it you weren't born there?"

"I don't remember where I was born. I was raised in Kazooie- err, Kamui."

The more I lied to these two, the more upset with myself I became.

"What do you like to do, Rick?" he asked. "It can't just be home repairs, can it?"

"I hate home repairs. I like the sky."

He smiled over his shoulder at me again.

"Do you, now?"

"I like the stars at night, they fascinate me," I said, clarifying what I meant by that.

"Oh, well, why don't I ever see you skywatching, then?"

I shrugged, and followed up with "I don't know" for good measure.

All was silent for a few moments, and I off handedly made a comment that surprised Hiccup.

"How come it's such a big deal to get into fights around here?"

"You don't understand," said Hiccup.

"I agree."

"Look, I know it's cold now... but winter's not even here yet. When it gets here, and that'll be soon... you'll know exactly what cold is. My Dad is fine with mild confrontations at any other time of year, but as winter is upon us? Everybody needs to be friends, or it's that much more difficult for us to prosper."

I was silent for a moment, and now I felt even worse about myself.

"S-sorry... I..."

"It's alright, Rick. Honestly, I've never met the person that didn't want to punch Snotlout's face in."

He shot me a smile as if to ensure that I didn't feel too bad. I still said nothing.

"Hey, I'm going to go faster now, so hold on!"

That's what he did. I found myself focusing on the flight again. It was odd. When we were flying like this, I felt at home, and not at my old one. This feeling... it was as if I was preparing to accept Berk not as a place where I live, but as a "home"; that is, a place that I can love.

Even though such thoughts brought me back to the past that I so longed for, I found those same feelings of anguish that have been my wont to express were nullified while I rode with Hiccup and Toothless.

It was as if I was preparing, but not ready to accept it as a place I can love yet, though.

It occurred to me now that we were high up again. This time, I was able to better appreciate the serenity that was offered to me.

"This is how we know the world is not flat," said Hiccup. "See how it curves?"

"I know it."

The world is just awesome.

The flight continued on for another hour, with Hiccup talking at me for the most part. It wasn't a tour of the island by any stretch of the imagination. It was just a way to relax.

Though we didn't find Snotlout and I therefore was unable to exact revenge, it was still a good time. I'd think of a different way to get Snotlout back. That was a promise.

When we landed again, I did not find myself so physically tired as I did on the first night. This time, I felt emotionally drained. I was not upset about the flight's conclusion. I was upset with myself, because I knew I was going to wake up angry tomorrow morning.

It didn't feel like any amount of flying would change that.

End of Chapter

1,906 words.

Kamui is a reference to a location of the same name in Okami, as is Nippon.

"Kazooie" is a reference to a character of the same name from the Banjo-Kazooie series.

Next chapter covers Rick breaking down.