He knew it was going to be an amazing day. Yes, his arm was still hurting at each and every step, but he was recovering quickly considering the seriousness of the wound.
Dagur was happily walking toward the northern forest. Earlier Hiccup had told him that he had a surprise for him and to meet him directly there. He didn't specify where exactly, but Dagur was very good at finding his younger viking's whereabouts after all those years of practice.
The bandages were changed that morning by Fishlegs who had also asked him to go and fetch a few quartz minerals since he was going in the right area. Of course he didn't have any clue of what to search for so he had already decided to pass the task to Hiccup.
He stopped briefly to scan the area for anything that could be a sign of a recent passage. It wasn't a difficult challenge. Right away he found snapped twigs and a series of footprints going toward a side of the forest. Dagur resumed walking, feeling excited for that surprise. Was the armour ready? He didn't know but he was going to in just a few moment.
He reached a clearing and found there Hiccup, Toothless and another dragon. A green Gronckle.
He stopped dead in his tracks, green eyes shining excitedly "Don't tell me" he told Hiccup as he got closer, mouth open and gaze fixed on the dragon next to the night fury.
"Ok then I won't" Hiccup replied with an amused smile.
"Merciful gods" he continued in awe and turned to look at Hiccup "Did you finally decide to teach me?"
"You asked me not to tell you" Hiccup crossed his arms over his chest "I think you may be able to learn a few basic things before you are completely healed"
"Sure that's…wow" with a swift move he hugged Hiccup, just one arm wrapped around his waist but same amount of pressure as if he had both. He had his face next the other, chocolate hair melting with fiery ones as he told him a heartfelt "thank you".
The Hooligan's heir seemed to relax a little at that genuine expression of gratitude, almost childish. He patted nervously his broad shoulders and, when the other didn't give any indication that he was letting him go soon, he pleaded "Dagur, I cannot feel my torso anymore"
"Ohhh yes yes, right. I alway forget how terribly soft you are" he chuckled "So what do I do now?"
Hiccup didn't got any chance in between sentences to feel embarrassed by the other's antics, so he just smiled awkwardly and rubbed his arms and sides. Toothless got closer to him as to check if he was fine after that bear hug and received an affectionate part on the muzzle.
"First of all maintain a visual contact with him, use your body language to tell him you pose no threat" then added "As soon as you feel that the dragon is relaxed with you around, try to get closer. Remember, no hasty movements and no bodily threat". Hiccup instructed him and watched careful.
That dragon was a calm one so he wasn't that worried; Dagur on the other hand was imprevedibile so he had to stay on his toes.
The red headed Viking inched closer to the green dragon, the good arm slightly raised and visible.
"See? No threat big guy, just your friendly Dagur" he muttered happily as he was so close he could actually touch the dragon's bumpy skin.
"Very good Dagur" Hiccup whispered pleased by his actions. "Now try for a physical contact but remember, you are just inviting him. The dragon has to accept you. Let him come to you" he continued as he leaned over Toothless's head. Instintively he stroked the night fury's head but he never moved his gaze away from that scene.
Dagur calloused hand stopped midair in front of the dragon's field of vision "Come on, come to Dagur" he cooed softly and waited for any sign of acceptance.
He didn't have to wait long before the Gronkle went forward, his nose rubbing up against the offered hand.
Dagur kept still but he was visibly overjoyed.
Hiccup cheered "Yes, perfect Dagur. You may be a natural talent"
The Berserker chuckled and, now more at ease, offered head scratches to the dragon "I think his name will be uhm something great such as he is" he thought about it for a while then exclaimed "Shattermaster. Yeah. Shattermaster is a fine name"
The dragon, newly named, looked at him sweetly as Dagur exploded in an obnoxious laughter.
Toothless mumbled something and Hiccup just smiled at that perfectly normal reaction by the redhead's standards.
"Good. Now let's see if you can actually fly with him" the younger viking gave him the saddle he had brought with him. He tied it to the docile dragon while Dagur kept petting him. They were bonding very fast, that was a good sign for Hiccup.
Everything was set and secured. "It's important for you to remember that right now you won't be able to use both of your arms to hold onto him. You will have to trust uhh Shattermaster here and he will surely help you out" Hiccup told him as he gestured the other to try and get up on the saddle.
Dagur nodded and even if he had just one arm working, he didn't have any problem to jump on his dragon. He sat as confortably as he could and patted again his Shattermaster.
"Now what?" he asked and turned toward Hiccup that was now riding on Toothless.
"Now we fly" The hooligan's heir replied with a smirk. The black dragon took off right away, flying fast through the forest "Easy Toothless, he's injuried" he muttered to the night fury to make him slow his speed .
Behind him he could hear Dagur's phyched scream but, before he could worry about any kind of problem or danger they were in, Shuttermaster had reach them and outrun their reduced pace. Both of them were jubilant.
"Ehi!" Hiccup exclaimed "Rule number one, no one overtakes us. Come on bud, let's show them" he slightly tapped his dragon's neck and clicked the fin in position. The speed increased terribly but Hiccup knew very well how to work with his dragon and just as quickly they catched up with the two flying runners.
"You will need to do better than that if you want to go faster than Toothless" Hiccup teased the other as they darted between one tree and another. As much as he was enjoying giving Dagur a hard time, he also needed to check if he needed any improvement in his riding style. Not counting the use of the other arm, of course.
The Berserker grunted and pouted in reply, he knew there was no way any dragon could be faster than a night fury.
Toothless taunted him with his dragonese laugh.
Hiccup patted his dragon smirking "Stay low on the saddle and use your legs to balance yourself. You won't need your arms that much if you keep your knees pressed tight against the sides of his belly" Hiccup decided to go easy on the sulky viking and gave him other tips to follow instead.
Dagur memorized and nodded as he followed the other rider's instructions diligently.
That first lesson continued for nearly all day and at certain point Hiccup had to stop the Berserker. He had noted the inexorable loss of energy and had suggested they called it quit for the day.
The redhead whined for a while but it wasn't something he could decide on his own; Hiccup was the one training him and he had the last word on the matter. Reluctantly he followed him home as the sun began setting over the horizon.
The redhead could still feel the excited shivers running all over his body but he also realized he couldn't actually feel anything from the waist down anymore.
He looked puzzled to his lap and legs "Uhh, Hiccup?" he called out for the rider who was now back on the ground and looking up at him"My legs feel funny".
Hiccup smirked knowingly "Of course they do, you overused them. You will need a lot of training to get used to this kind of exercise" he explained as he got closer to Dagur and hold up his hands to help him get off of Shattermaster.
"Take it easy now" he advised cautiously. As soon as he said that Dagur tried to get up. His legs were sore and didn't want to cooperate anymore so they gave in and the Berserker fell down with a shriek.
Hiccup has been ready to help him regaining balance but of course he couldn't have imagined that, because of the panicky fall, Dagur could have destabilized him as well.
The Berserker groaned. His arm burned, his legs and butt hurt in way he never thought possible; then he realized he was onto something warm and much more confortable than the ground.
"Aw sorry brother" he immediately understood what had happened and apologized. Opening his eyes he could verify that he had indeed fallen on top of Hiccup.
His breath was caught in his throat and everything seemed to freeze in time. All of his pain was a dull sensation in the back of his mind as he stared at the sight beneath him.
The Berserker couldn't stop thinking on how much the sunset suited the younger viking as his gaze moved endlessy up and down his face. His dishevelled hair shined like silk, with million of sparkles trapped in their dark texture. And his eyes, the eyes so deep he could drown in just by looking at them; now they were lit by a warm glow, a beacon in that misterious but marvellous ocean of green.
His usually fair complection seemed to radiate warmth, and Dagur's hand was drawn to it. Callous fingers brushed his cheekbone caressing the skin as it grew more red and hot at each second.
He was driven by the feeling of fast heartbeats, his or the other one's he couldn't really tell; chaotic thoughts were chasing each other in his mind, leaving him at the mecy of his mere instict as he began to lower his head.
Shallow breaths met as the readhead was so close, he felt he could feel the taste of -
"Ehi what's happening here?" a male voice was heard in the surrounding area.
"Yeah, we heard a scream" another voice, female joined him.
A chicken cooed in agreement.
The twins froze in their tracks as they looked at the sight of the two viking on on top of the other. They blinked in synch for a few moments and then they began cheering loudly
"Now that's what I call a training!" Ruffnut exlaimed perky. Her brother nodded and replied while rubbing his head against the chicken in his arms "I was always a supporter of the love education"
At that disturbance both Dagur and Hiccup turned instantly flaming red, now conscious of how close they were. Dagur jumped back, startled, and tried to get up but his muscles were still numb. He was loosing his balance again and he started to wave his arms like a baby dragon that was tring to fly for its first time.
Hiccup pulled himself quickly into a sitting position, dumbfounded and fuming red. He hastily stumbled up, disengaging himself from the Berserker. His embarassed gaze turned from the dragons looking at their riders to the hollering twins that were attracting the attention of everybody else in the base.
"Sorry brother" he heard Dagur apologize to him again. It was difficult to turn to look at him in that awkward moment but his pleading voice called Hiccup's gaze back to him. He was still kneeling on the ground, the only working arm to support him.
"What's all this ruckus?"asked a curious Heather followed by Astrid and the other remaining riders arriving in the area.
"Hiccup and Dagur on the ground k-i-s-s-i-n-g" the twins both chanted and danced around, amused by the whole situation.
Green eyes widened "Th- that's" Hiccup stammered, swallowed hard and fell silent again.
"Alright everyone, go back to your tasks" Astrid yelled in the end, waiting for each and every one of them to retreat.
She was looking confusedly at the two main focuses of the scene "Hiccup?" she called out for him but he simply turned his back on everyone and walked away. Astrid run back after him and Toothless, after a moment of uncertainty, followed them discretely.
Heather finally alone with her brother and Shattermaster got closer to Dagur.
"Are you okay? What happened?" she asked him.
The tension, and the pain got the better of Dagur who finally fell down again.
"Tell Fishlegs I forgot his minerals" He groaned and curled up on the ground, defeated.
Author's note: Things are getting steamy over here. Still not Beta-ed, sorry for any error.