Maybe we're not so different after all…In which the 'cousins' have a little bonding time and Snotlout learns something important. Snotlout growled, punching an old tree wit his bare knuckles. Bark flaked off in every direction. Knowing my luck, that's a poison oak.

Snotlout was supposed to be getting dinner, but as he straightened his horned helmet and tromped on through the forest, he was rather distracted.

"Just because Hiccup's stupid dad and my stupid dad were stupid together doesn't mean Hiccup's stupid face is right about everything!" Snotlout fumed. This was a core part of him- he was Hiccup's rival. That was his role. He was supposed to follow in his father's footsteps, prove himself worthy, challenge and discredit Hiccup at every turn, so that when the wimp finally failed he could spring in the position of leadership. Or at least that had been the plan. Now, he wasn't so sure.

And he hated that. Another tree received his wrath, this time in the form of a boot that sent several acorns raining down from the top branches. One bounced off his helmet. Stupid acorns.

We are in no way similar. Snotlout replied to his Hiccup head voice.

But weren't they? Headstrong fathers, rebellious kids… no. Hiccup was going to be chief. That wasn't OK. The Jorgensons should be the ruling house.

He hated how that came out like a question in his mind. Snotlout shifted his fishing pole on his back, along with the net the genius Princess Outpost had come up with. It didn't help that Hiccup was better than him at literally everything.

Dad said I have to beat him. But how? At this point, Snotlout wasn't trying to become the next in line for chief. He didn't really want to be chief- seeing the amount of stress Hiccup got put under just running the Edge put him out of that. At this point, one-upping Hiccup was just his rule. It's what he did.

I'm already a disappointment. Why do I still care?

"I don't!" Snotlout muttered, to no one in particular. The ground grew rockier around him. And obviously this had to be Hookfang's alone time! So now he had to trek all the way out here… for… fish. Yes. Fish. Add forgetfulness to his list of stupid reasons for being stupid.

"This is so dumb!" He announced to no one in particular. He knew he couldn't and wouldn't be chief. He didn't want to lead. But he had to be better than Hiccup, he just had to be. That was what was expected of him. That was who he was.

Talk to Hiccup. His Hiccup voice took over. Ask him how he deals with it.

That voice he would silence. Snotlout crested the final hill, revealing a large, glassy lake positively teeming with fish just waiting to be caught. When he got back- with exactly one fish more than Hiccup caught last time- he would go talk to Hiccup. But not to ask him questions. To confront him. To beat him, somehow. To be someone.

—-

It was one less fish. It just had to be one less fish. That's how it always went, it seemed. Snotlout stormed into the Clubhouse, ignoring Astrid's prim little scolding about being late, dumped the fish onto the table, then set about deftly chopping the heads and tailfins away. Then came the dorsal fin, cut in half. The insides were scooped out and deposited into a waste bucket. The fish was deboned, the skin was thoroughly descaled and washed, the filet was coated in oil and thrown into a small iron platter to cook. Then repeat.

No one came near a Snotlout with a kitchen knife. Snotlout hacked away, over and over again, cutting and gutting the dead fish with quick, sharp, precise movements until within minutes they were all cooking. But he wouldn't add any seasonings. Cooking was girly stuff. All he would do was throw some fish in a fire. In fact, he wouldn't even finish it! Snapping at Astrid wouldn't end well for him- so he snapped at Fishlegs instead, shoving a piece of thick leather at the boy and ordering him to take the fish off when they were just starting to flake in the middle. Now, Snotlout thought, burning with a longsuffering rage. Now it's time to confront Hiccup.

"Hiccup!" He shouted, yanking harshly at the metal lever and sending the hatch door flying up. A shadowy figure inside jumped- purple glowed-

"Woah, Toothy! Chill! It's me!" Snotlout snapped, quickly regaining his composure and marching inside. He scraped a stool over to watch Hiccup's work; the noise was a lot harsher than necessary. "Hiccup."

"Hm?" The Viking didn't look up from his work fiddling with the different attachments of the Dragon Eye. "What's up, Snotlout?"

Rage bubbled beneath the surface. Snotlout sucked in a deep breath, cheeks puffing, fully ready to deliver a crushing monologue. "You dared say we're similar-"

The words choked in his throat. Instead, what came out was much more, sickeningly so in Snotlout's opinion, needy. "What… what did you mean?"

What?!

"What did I mean when?" Hiccup set aside his work, leaning back with his elbows against the desk. So darn casual. I wasn't supposed to say that! But Snotlout's legs seemed to move without his permission, crossing in front of him. He was actually listening.

Well. I can't back out now, he'll just brush me off again for acting weird. "When you said we had something in common. Spit it out."

10 minutes later…

"So, why don't you just find something that you can beat me at?" Hiccup questioned.

I still don't know how I managed to spill ALL the yaknog in ten flipping minutes. Snotlout muttered internally. "I don't know, maybe because you're good at everything?"

Ugh. Now my angry sounds desperate. Yuck.

"Oh, come on!" Hiccup chided, sitting diagonally on his table, one leg hanging over the side and the other propping his hand to his face. His free hand gestured down at Snotlout. "You, for example, have two legs!"

Again with the leg jokes? "Scars are cool though! They make you look tough."

"A scar-" Hiccup landed on the floor with a thunk, straightening and wincing slightly. "-means you lost a battle. That you let yourself get hurt. You came out unscathed. I didn't."

"But they mean you fought!"

Hiccup sighed, glancing down at his metal prosthetic. A dark shadow crossed his face. "They mean a lot more than that."

Snotlout didn't know quite how to respond to that. Before he could come up with a reply, however, Hiccup straightened. His auburn hair shook back and forth as he seemed to clear a dark memory from his mind. "You… wear a helmet!"

"So do the twins, Hiccup."

"You won at Thawfest!"

"Because you let me!"

"I have a Night Fury! It wasn't a fair race!"

"That's not how my dad saw it!"

"Why in Hela's name does that matter?!"

"It doesn't!" Snotlout's chest clenched uncomfortably. "It's not his fault you're a goody two-shoes-"

"One shoe."

"Good for nothing, bossy, tyrannical, perfect little Viking!"

"Is that what this is about, Snotlout?" Hiccup paced a step forward. He was taller than Snotlout. Snotlout hadn't noticed that before. "You think I'm a better Viking than you?!" Their leader let out a harsh scoff. "Me? The useless, scrawny, clumsy Hiccup who's never been good for anything but talking with dragons? You remember that Hiccup means runt, right? That if it wasn't for my mom I'd be sitting in the bottom of a well?" Another scoff. Hiccup paced to Snotlout's right, shaking his head. But suddenly he stopped, seeming to draw into himself. "Thor, I wasn't supposed to say all that."

Snotlout couldn't speak. His mouth felt dry; he swallowed, Adam's apple bobbing. "Uh…"

"Ignore me." Hiccup's voice carried a forced lightness to it. Stop it! Stop caring! Snotlout reprimanded himself. You're mad at him! It doesn't matter that I'm a big part of the reason he's got this stupid overworking complex that's gonna get him killed. He can fix himself. "A challenge."

"Huh?" Hiccup looked up. Snotlout froze. He knew the remedy was clear, clear as the water at the Moonlit Lake. But he wasn't supposed to be-

"Let me pick some random stuff for all of us to do to see who's really the best at stuff. Not dragon stuff. Random stuff."

Hiccup snorted. "Like what? Fishing?"

Snotlout sighed. "Seriously? Do you have a boredom wish? Nah! Somethin' like a wrestling match, or arm wrestling, or thumb wrestling-"

"Wrestling." Hiccup deadpanned, a slow smirk coming to his face. "Snotlout! You really wanna win something, don't you?"

"Well-" Snotlout sputtered. "Ugh- do you have a better idea?!"

"Yeah."

"What is it?"

Hiccup sat against his desk, letting out a small sigh of relief. "Cooking."

"WHAT?!" Snotlout exploded. "Aw, heck no! I am not cooking! That stuff's for girls!"

"What did you say, Snotlout?" Came a new voice. Snotlout felt a chill run down his spine. Shoot. I screwed up.

"Nothing!" He yelped. Oh, Thor, how do I- "Sure, Hiccup, a cooking competition sounds great! What else did you have in mind?" Snotlout held his breath as that darned Viking's smirk widened, eyes sliding over to Astrid's, Green met blue. "Well, I say Astrid picks something."

I'm done for- actually, wait. It's Astrid. She'll pick something physical.

Snotlout really didn't like her returning grin.

"I say we do a singing competition."

"A what?!" Snotlout jerked upright.

"What?" The blonde-haired shield maiden looked genuinely surprised. But then her expression melted into something teasing. "I thought you sounded pretty good last time you sang for us, Snotlout!"

The Viking groaned, slamming a fist against his horned helmet. "I do not sing!"

"Oh, I don't know, Astrid." Hiccup looked worried. "Snotlout did sound pretty pitchy. Maybe we should let Tuffnut take his place for that one."

"Uh, no, I'm good, thank you so very much!" Snotlout spoke without thinking. "My baritone is well-oiled! Not that-" Again with my big fat yak mouth. "Not that it matters! I don't care, let's do a freaking songy show. At least I'll get to laugh at the twins and you guys." Snotlout was well aware the two were playing him, but what was he to do about it? He was well and truly stuck now. If I actually win one of those my reputation is destroyed. But if I lose, it's also destroyed.

I need something muscular. Something manly. Snotlout leapt atop a small barrel, giving him some height above the leader of the dragon riders. "Fine!" He shouted, as if just having come to some great conclusion. "I will join your petty squabble if you allow me to pick the final competition!"

"It was your idea, oh great lord." Hiccup crossed his arms, sarcasm heavy in his tone. "Of course you get to pick one!"

"Fine." Snotlout arched his back so far he almost fell over. Wobbling, he continued. "An arm wrestling match. That's the last competition."

Hiccup stood, crossing the room, arm extended. Snotlout landed with a thump on the hollow oak that made up Hiccup's floor, giving the leader a hearty handshake. Up and down their arms pumped. Snotlout flexed his muscles, making sure to squeeze Hiccup's hand a little harder than necessary. "May the best Viking win." Hiccup's expression was loose and casual, but his hand clenched back, sharp green eyes boring holes into Snotlout's soul. "Of course." Snotlout muttered back. "But it'll be me. Obviously."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, pulling his hand free with a pop. Astrid was watching the men's antics with a mix of amusement and annoyance. "Obviously."

"Somehow I don't think you meant that." Snotlout tried to make his voice all hard and edgy like Hiccup's, he really did, but somehow it still came out like a question. Darn it! Get back in control, boy-o. "I'll see you tonight, then? In the Clubhouse, right after dark."

"Deal." Hiccup turned back to his desk, sitting down again and motioning to Astrid to grab a wrench from the far corner. "See you tonight."

Snotlout emerged from the now-open bay door of Hiccup's hut, taking a deep breath of the crisp air. A smile rose to his lips, determination shining in his mud-brown eyes.

"Oh, I'm gonna win this."

A/N: What did you think of the story? The format? I usually don't put any notes at the beginning because I feel like it pulls you out of the story a little, but I figured there needed to be a break between this story and the last one. Also, shout out to TobiasBoon, Romantica21, Whiskerface, and christinapena1991 for following/favoriting/reviewing! (Especially you, TobiasBoon. Lord knows us fanfic people love reviews.)

Anyways, next chapter hopefully Monday, but like I said previously I'm going off the grid for the next three days so we'll see.

God Bless,

-Grace