My Cousin's Keeper- Snotlout and Hiccup have always been at odds. But when Snotlout accidentally shoots Hiccup in the chest with an arrow, he faces the fact that it's finally time to address their roles as cousins… whether he likes it or not. Requested by animalsarepeopletoo

I'm back! *waves* Yep, I've been on vacation for almost two weeks now, which explains my absence. And what d'ya know, I'm just as accident prone as Hiccup is! Won't go into details, but he and I share a similar "luring" to all kinds of injuries. I'm actually beginning to think I have a curse or something.

*cue dry laughter*

Anywaaaaaaaaaaays, thank you so much animalsarepeopletoo for requesting this! I love cousin bonding (well, all family bonding, really) and this is just a wonderful idea that I fully enjoyed writing for you. Hope it satisfies everyone's whump needs! Hmm hmm, and I made this extra long for you guys, because I've been gone for so long… well, with no more to say, I shall bid you a farewell and hope you enjoy!

"Ugh… are we there yet?"

"Snotlout, please stop asking me that. You know it takes longer than thirty seconds to find the trails two missing dragons!"

"Well, the only reason we're stuck on this abandoned island without our dragons in the first place is because of you!"

Hiccup looked up at Snotlout with a furious gaze, but he swallowed down his bubbling anger and fought for control over the altercation. "Snotlout, I told you that there was a storm over this way, but did you listen? No! You thought getting back to the Edge quicker from meeting with Johann was more important than safety… but now Hookfang got spooked off by the lightning while Toothless crashed into the trees and was separated from us... which was not by anyone's doing, and was an amazement that neither of us was injured in the process.. so no, it is not my fault!"

Snotlout opened his mouth as if he were about to retort, before he closed it and simply glared at Hiccup. He stopped walking, and crossed his arms. "I don't think we're going the right way. We should go north, not south."

"And if we were going north, you'd want us to go south." Hiccup threw up his arms in exasperation. "I'm trying my best to find out where the dragons are, and then we can get out of here, but you're not making it any easier! Can you please just trust me to get us out of this for once?"

Snotlout stomped his foot down on the ground in defiance. "Oh, so you think you can do everything, and I can't?"

"That's not what I said."

"But you meant it, didn't you?" Snotlout shook his head, infuriated. "Well, I'll show you, Hiccup, I'll find us a way out of here… and I don't need your help either!"

He started to stomp away into the canopy of trees, but Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder before he could go. "Snotlout, we need to stick together," he insisted. "When that storm hits, we'll need to be together to outlast it. Don't be foolish and go off alone."

Snotlout brushed the young heir's hand off, turning away. "Forget it, Hiccup! I don't need you. I don't need anyone!" He shifted the crossbow tucked away in his right arm, thinking back to where he had just got it, from Johann. He wanted to get it as a gift to his father, as he knew Johann would have just what he needed. Hiccup had accompanied him on the way, although, worried that Dragon Hunters might sabotage Snotlout on the way and determined that he'd be there to protect his friend.

And that was the real reason they were here. That was the real cause of Snotlout stupidly trying to fly through that storm just to get back to the Edge quicker, because of the crossbow for his father.

Now it might have cost both him and Hiccup their lives.

"I'll shout if I find anything," Snotlout said gruffly, still keeping his back to his cousin. "Goodbye."

With one last huff, he stormed off, leaving a very irritated and a very concerned Hiccup behind.

Snotlout fired another arrow at the tree with his crossbow, eyes seething with anger. He had long abandoned his search for the dragons- it was useless, and the looming storm clouds above him made it difficult to look in the dim light. Hiccup probably had already stumbled upon their dragons' tracks and was doing much better than he was, so what was the use of even trying any longer? He stiffened. Hiccup. Who did he think he was, acting like he better than him? Well, he wasn't. Snotlout was better at Hiccup at all kinds of things.

Like… like…

He drew a blank and frowned.

Surely there was one thing he was better at Hiccup at…?

His eyes fell upon the crossbow positioned in his hands, and he smiled. "I'm a better shot than Hiccup any day," he muttered. "Hiccup can't shoot straight to save his life." He slipped another arrow into the cross bow's string, aiming at the tree in front of him again. He wet his lips, focusing on the target ahead.

Yeah. Another perfect shot and I'll show him who's not so Mr. Perfect anymore…

The arrow was readied to fire, and-

"Snotlout! Are you over here?"

Snotlout hadn't seen Hiccup step out of the cover of trees in front of him before it was too late. Startled by the sudden appearance, Snotlout accidentally released the arrow from the crossbow with a frightened jolt. Hiccup, eyes wide, struggled to avoid the blow but only managed to turn around slightly before the arrow sunk into the left side of his chest.

He yelled out in pain as he staggered backwards, spinning on his heels and falling face down into the dirt. His body automatically curled up into a ball, and his hands went rigid against the ground.

Snotlout froze, taken by surprise at the sudden change of events. As if time itself had stopped, he stared in horror at Hiccup writhing in agony just a few yards from where he himself stood, his thoughts slowly coming together again.

"Oh Thor, Hiccup...," Snotlout gasped, running over, and he dropped to his knees at his cousin's side, carefully trying to turn the anguished boy onto his back.

Hiccup cried out as Snotlout inspected the arrow wound. The world spun around him, and he could barely make out Snotlout's panicked face as the other boy spoke to him.

"Hiccup… I didn't mean to shoot you, honest," Snotlout rushed, stunned by what he had done to his own flesh and blood. "It was an accident..."

Hiccup's body attempted to roll away from the hands that were holding him. Snotlout kept a firmer grip on the boy, as well as a wary eye on the arrow that still stuck out of his chest. "Take it easy, Hiccup," he whispered. "You've been shot by an arrow, and I have to get it out…"

For a moment, Hiccup's expression glazed over with what looked to be confusion, before he set his jaw and grunted. "Fine… just get it over with…" His eyes closed.

Snotlout's eyes glistened over with emotion as he pulled his own eyelids down, unsure if he was willing to complete the task ahead. His lips trembled as if he were to let out a whimper to the gods- but he never did. His nose twitched as his mouth suddenly became agape, and he drew in a breath of air sharply.

Hiccup needed him right now. He had to be strong for both of them, or survival wasn't going to be likely.

He rubbed his hands together, circulating the flow of blood that traveled through them before clearing his throat. "Try to stay still, Hiccup," he said, although he knew that it might be impossible for his cousin to do so with all the pain he was in. "It'll be harder to pull the arrow out if you're jolting around…"

Only a moan in response.

"Okay… here I go."

Snotlout grabbed the arrow with his hands shakily, before setting a firmer grip on it. He exhaled and then began to pull. Hiccup choked out gasps of pain as the arrow exited his body, but it was obvious he was forcing himself to his limits to stay still.

At last, the arrow was yanked out by Snotlout's hand, erupting a cry of agony from Hiccup. His forehead was beaded with sweat, and his chest heaved as he struggled to catch his breath. Snotlout breathed out a sigh relief. It was over…

But he froze as he inspected the bloodied arrow in his hand.

"Gods darn it, the shaft broke!" he cursed, flinging the broken arrow off into the trees, not caring where it landed. He returned his attention to Hiccup, whose skin was now a sickly pale and chest was bleeding again.

"Don't worry, Hiccup…. I'll get us out of this," Snotlout promised, shifting his kneeling position on the ground to a more comfortable spot. "We'll find Hookfang and Toothless and get you back to Berk so Gothi can take care of you… okay?"

Hiccup's eyes were closed tightly, and he didn't respond.

Snotlout leaned back on his heels, staring up at the stormy sky above him as guilt coursed through his veins. If he didn't get that arrow shaft out of Hiccup's chest soon, infection would set in. Once that happened, without the proper medicine and care, Hiccup didn't stand a chance.

The honored, loved, and respected Dragon Trainer would die...

And it'd all be his fault.

Making camp was supposed to be simple. Get some pine branches, place them on the ground for Hiccup, find a sheltered spot (which was easy enough, since they were in the woods), and sit back lazily as the rain fell down around them.

Wrong.

Snotlout had completed the first of the steps correctly, but getting a fire going next was something that he could not do. The wood was either too wet or too fresh to use, and every time the smallest spark flickered within the branches, the light rain smothered it out.

Hiccup let out another moan from his makeshift bed on the ground, twitching to roll over but not having enough strength to do it. Snotlout sighed as he sat back a few feet away from him, biting the inside of his cheek.

What now? The storm didn't look like it was going to let up anytime soon, and Hiccup was clearly getting worse. Already small, inflamed streaks of infection were circled around the arrow wound, reminding Snotlout of the shaft buried inside the skin. He had peeled off Hiccup's bloodied shirt long ago, stripping it into long bandages which he wrapped the boy's left side of his chest in. It was the best he could do for now. Alas, to his disappointment, it seemed to be of little help at all.

"Hey, cuz, you thirsty?" Snotlout asked, scooting a little closer to Hiccup with his canteen in hand. Thankfully, neither of the boys had lost their canteens in the crash, as they had had them strapped to their sides when they landed instead of in their dragons' packs.

Hiccup slowly turned his head in Snotlout's direction, eyes half closed. "A… little," he managed out, panting.

Snotlout didn't force his sick cousin to talk anymore, but only unscrewed the canteen's cork, lifted Hiccup's head up gently from the ground with his hand, and pressed the cap to the boy's lips. Hiccup drank slowly, but he drank his fill. He settled back down into the pine leaves with a sigh, and gave Snotlout a weak smile when he realized he was being watched.

"Hey, thanks," he murmured. "Know it's… h-hard taking care… of me…"

Snotlout gave a small shrug, although his hands were slightly shaking. "Yeah, well, don't get used to it. Once you're all better, I'll think of a whole list of things you can do for me."

"I see… your stubbornness… hasn't changed…"

"And your sarcasm never does either, so stop complaining." Snotlout popped the cork back into the canteen with a frown. "Here, let me check your bandages. I know it's going to hurt, but try to bear with me... I just need to know how bad it is."

Hiccup flinched, but he didn't move otherwise. "But… I'm fi-fine…"

"Sure, yeah, keep telling yourself that…" Snotlout set the canteen aside and knelt by Hiccup, where he began to unravel the sticky bandages with tentative fingers. Through the entire procedure, Hiccup had stiffened up and showed no signs of relaxing. Snotlout sighed but didn't say anything.

When the last of the bandages had been removed, he couldn't hold back the flash of horror that crossed his face. Hiccup's wound looked much worse than the last time he had seen it. Tendrils of pink infection had grown mightily, nearing a whole inch by now. The skin itself was hot to the touch. The bleeding had mostly stopped by then, but the laceration over top of it was oozing with a pale yellow liquid that made him feel sick to his stomach. And he could only imagine what Hiccup was feeling.

"Is it bad?"

Snotlout looked up and met Hiccup's tired but strong gaze. It still amazed him daily at how calm his cousin was when he was stuck in these situations, and there was no way out to be seen. He was always smart, level-headed, and easy going, no matter what risks were ahead or what losses he faced.

Snotlout wasn't.

"It's…" He struggled for the right words to say, unable to tell his own family he didn't have a good chance of making it. "I mean…"

"It is bad, isn't it?" Hiccup said softly. His eyes once again locked onto Snotlout's, and within their emerald colored depths was a world of such pain and sorrow and regret that it rattled Snotlout's bones to their very core. He bit down on his tongue to hold back the whimper that yearned to come out.

Hiccup knew he was dying. He knew he was dying and he wasn't going to scream or cry out at all the unfairness suddenly shoved at him, but only sit back in his final hours and watch as life slowly slipped away. And the worst part of all of it was that Snotlout knew that if he had not gone storming off like a child just a few hours before, none of this would have happened.

If only he had a cooler temper, like Hiccup. If only he had stayed and listened to what his cousin had had to say, this situation would never have happened in the first place. Hiccup would be safe- alive-, and maybe the two even would have found their dragons by now.

He suddenly realized that being like Hiccup wasn't always such a bad thing.

"Snotlout? You… you okay?"

Snotlout realized his eyes were gathering with hot tears of shame, and he quickly gave a loud sniff, wiping them away with the back of his hand. "Am I okay?" He laughed, although it was forced. "Hiccup, you're the one… you're the one…"

"Dying?" Hiccup was expressionless as he looked over Snotlout, head resting slightly against the tree behind him. "Snotlout… it isn't your fault and you know it. I should never just have surprised you like that."

"But… but I shot you Hiccup!" Snotlout exploded, his eyes stinging. "I should have known you were in the area and been more careful… or actually stuck to the original plan and tried to find the dragons! Now I can't even get that cursed arrow shaft out of you until I get you back to Gothi on Berk… and by then the infection will have…" He swallowed. "It will have..."

Hiccup smiled gently, his warm green eyes no longer filled with the pain he was in but with a welcoming demeanor- one at peace. "Snotlout… you have to get the shaft out…" His voice dropped. "At least if I die... during the procedure… I know it'll be in the cause of trying to live. I won't go down-" He coughed slightly. "-without a fight.""

Snotlout looked shocked. "But Hiccup, what if... I kill you?"

"I already told you… it'd be during… a fight to live…"

"I can't just take that risk."

"Yes, you can!… or I swear… I'll dig that shaft… out myself…"

Snotlout paused, and cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Like you could."

"I'd… certainly try…"

"How? With your own fingernails?"

"If that's what it takes." Hiccup let out a harsh breath. "Snotlout… please… I've never… begged to you before… or anyone… but… but…"

Snotlout's eyes filled with understanding, and he nearly gaped when he realized just what Hiccup meant. The great Dragon Trainer, for once, was… afraid. He'd faced dragons the size of mountains, fought foes three times his size, outwitted the cleverest mind twisters in the archipelago without showing an ounce of fear in the slightest. Yet now, finally something had shown up that had scared him...

Death.

Snotlout shivered and found himself nodding almost as if in a trance. "All right. I'll do it. I... I think I have a knife somewhere on me… it won't exactly be clean, but it's better than using my bare fingernails."

"Like I'd allow you... to use those... dirty things... anyway," Hiccup scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Well, look who's got their sarcasm back."

"Well, look who... hasn't gotten their… knife out yet..."

Snotlout scowled at the retort, although privately wasn't really bothered with Hiccup's sarcasm. It was just a relief that the boy had the strength left to make a joke. "I know, I know…" He slipped the hidden knife out from his boot, fingering it as its cool blade slithered across his palm.

"Nice knife," Hiccup said.

"Thanks. I… I got it from my dad a few years back. He told me to always keep it hidden in case there was an emergency and I needed to use it."

Hiccup's eyes were blinking rapidly, and Snotlout judged the boy was fighting hard to stay awake. He smirked. "How about you just… lay back and relax, cuz. Don't worry. You're in my hands now."

"That's what… I'm worried about…"

"Oh, haha... just close your eyes and lie down…"

Hiccup surprisingly obliged, and Snotlout swallowed, glancing down at the knife gripped in his hand. His knuckles were already white from clutching the hilt so hard. "Okay… so… this is going to hurt… a lot…," he said weakly, now drained of courage. "I'm sorry I can't give you anything for the pain. I'll do my best to go light, but-"

"No." Hiccup's eyes flickered open, and he looked up at Snotlout in a feverish determination. "Get that shaft out… don't care about the pain… but… promise me something..." His chest was heaving from the effort of speech, yet he remained just as steady and strong as before.

"Anything, cuz."

"Promise you'll find… and take care... of Toothless… f'me… if I… don't make it?"

Fear crossed Snotlout's expression, and he shook his head. "Hiccup, you're going to make it- I know it now. You always get well… this infection will clear up once the arrow shaft is removed and I get you back to Berk… and besides, why would you leave Toothless to me and not the others? Astrid is kind of your… well… girlfriend, Fishface and you are best friends, and the twins- well, I understand why you're not choosing them… but what about your father? He could take care of Toothless just fine. So… why me?"

Hiccup's eyes were full of emotion as he looked up at Snotlout. His lips were slow in forming the words, but that didn't take the passion out of them at all. "Because… we're… family," he whispered. "Cousins… forever. No matter how annoying... one of us might be..."

A slow smile creeped up the edges of Snotlout's mouth. "Yeah. Right. Cousins." He squeezed his eyes shut, trembling with the guilt and the strain of the day.

If only I hadn't been so careless… now Hiccup has to pay the price… oh gods above, please help me. Hiccup needs help...

He stifled a sob.

Please…

Snotlout wasn't quite sure who suffered more while he was digging for the shaft inside of Hiccup— him, or his cousin. Hiccup cried out several times during the operation, his head tossing in agony across the pine branches. But Snotlout's heart hurt in a way it never had before. Every time Hiccup moaned or yelped was like an arrow to his own chest. He was the one making his cousin suffer so much. He was the one causing so much pain.

The shaft still didn't show, even after a minute of digging, and that was when Hiccup finally broke. "Hurts," he whimpered, and then his body fell limp into unconsciousness.

Oh, Thor, Snotlout thought to himself. He felt terrible as his overwhelming guilt greatened. He's passed out… all right, Jorgenson, quick. This is good. Right? He won't have to suffer through any more pain. Get the shaft out before he wakes up. Simple. Easy. No problem.

With a shaky breath, Snotlout pushed his fears aside and dug deeper into Hiccup's pale skin. After poking and prodding for half a minute more, finally the broken arrow shaft revealed itself, and he let out a shout of triumph at the sight. Finally he had found what was causing the infection- Hiccup would be safe!

He dug out the shaft quickly, as if the devil himself was on his heels, as well as checking to make sure there were no splinters of wood left inside the wound. If there were, the infection still wouldn't clear up and the whole operation would have been useless. But after a few minutes of careful examination, he dubbed Hiccup finally rid of the arrow shaft's remains.

By the time he had finished up with Hiccup and cleaned his dirtied hands off in the pouring rain outside, Hiccup was beginning to stir. "D… Dad…," he croaked out, shifting uneasily on the pine branches beneath him. "Tooth… less… Toothless…?" His voice grew steadier. "Toothless... where are… you... bud…?"

"No, it's not your dad, or Toothless," Snotlout chuckled as he sat down next to his cousin, wiping his wet hands off on his shirt. "It's your cousin. Snotlout."

Hiccup moaned softly. "Snotlout?"

"Yeah, I'm right here, cuz. Can you open your eyes for me?"

"Tired…"

"I know, but I'd really like to find out how you're feeling… come on, Hiccup… you wouldn't let me down, now would you?"

There was a pause, and Snotlout knew he had hit just the spot. Hiccup, frankly, seemed to always be eager to please everyone and would do just about anything for his friends if they asked of it. Sure enough, Hiccup managed to peel open his eyelids a moment later, the green orbs beneath them coated with infectious fever. "Mmm… m'awake now…"

Snotlout nodded, allowing a smile. "So, how're you feeling?"

Hiccup blinked. "The same…"

Snotlout's smile faded. He had hoped for some improvement by now.

"Well… can I get you anything?" he offered, the guilt of being the one behind Hiccup's misery forcing him into a such a worried position. "You thirsty? I don't have any food with me right now, but when the rain's let up I can probably go and hunt down a rabbit or something…"

Hiccup closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling as he exhaled. "No… just feel sick… want to sleep…"

"Then… then you go right ahead and sleep," Snotlout said, his words picked out carefully. He wasn't sure if getting the arrow shaft out had completely taken out the infection, and didn't want to raise his hopes too high. "I'll be right here if you need me."

Hiccup, even in his fevered state, smiled. "Thanks… cousin…"

And he drifted off, with that small smile still on his face.

The temptation to feel Hiccup's forehead for fever was slowly getting the best of him, and Snotlout wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out. But he knew that if he did check Hiccup's forehead, he'd take the risk of waking his cousin up, and that was something he didn't want to do.

He leaned his head back against a tree near Hiccup, silently praying to the gods for a miracle, a sign, anything to help. He'd done all he could for his friend now. He'd stopped the infection from spreading anymore, but what of the parts that remained? What kind of damage had that already inflicted? Was Hiccup even strong enough to fight back against it?

He swallowed and shut his eyes.

If he dies, it'll all be my fault. What will Stoick think of me then? Will he dub me his son's murderer? Astrid will never forgive me, that's for sure. Hiccup was a piece of her life, and having him ripped away from her soul like this will definitely cause some damage. Ruffnut and Tuffnut will hold this against me for the rest of my life. It'll never be the same around them anymore either. Fishface might forgive me someday, but I doubt it. He's always told me that my ignorance will get somebody killed.

Guess he never thought it'd be Hiccup.

He figured must have drifted off sometime after that because the next thing he was aware of was a faint, "Snotlout? Snotlout?" coming from beside him. He gradually opened his sleepy eyes to see Hiccup... awake… and sitting up beside him with fever flushed cheeks and a small smile. The larger boy's eyes widened in shock, and he could barely stutter out, "Hiccup? You-you shouldn't be up... you're sick!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes, although he did lean his head against the tree behind him to ease Snotlout's litany of concerns. "Nah, it's fine... I feel better than the last time I woke up. A little hot… the arrow wound hurts like Helheim… but overall, I think I'm okay."

He offered a weak smile, and Snotlout returned it.

"So… you know you're okay? For sure?" He was still haunted by his previous thoughts of Hiccup dying, and wasn't going to take any chances just yet.

Hiccup looked thoughtful. "Well... I feel better... so that's a start, I guess."

"Good! I'm still taking you to Gothi, though."

"Yeah, probably a good idea…" Hiccup smirked. "Well, how about this- when we find Toothless and Hookfang... I'll go back to Berk so Gothi can check me out, and you can go back to the Edge and tell the others what happened... that way the others won't be too worried about all of this..."

"Are you kidding?" Snotlout crossed his arms with a huff. "I'm never leaving your side again after what just happened."

Hiccup cocked an eyebrow, confused of whether his cousin was being serious or not. "Really?"

"Yeah. Of course. After all, I'm your family, right? Your cousin? And cousins look out for each other."

"Hmm. Yeah. I guess they do." Hiccup chuckled at the thought of Snotlout stalking him like a mother hen, and tipped his head back and enjoying the light lull of the rain around them. The day was a new one, and his head felt much clearer than it had hours before. The stabbing pain that had once mercilessly tormented his chest before had now eased back down to a tolerable ache, while the wound itself was no longer bleeding. He was no healer, yes, but he knew that somehow... he was going to be all right.

"Hiccup! Look!"

Hiccup's eyes snapped open at Snotlout's urgent tone, and he strained his head to see what his cousin was pointing at. There were figures in the sky… of dragons. Four dragons to be exact. As they drew closer, he could make out the dragons as a Nadder, a Gronkle, a Zippleback, and a Monstrous Nightmare.

"Looks like old Hooky came through, and brought back the others after all!" Snotlout grinned, slinging an arm over Hiccup's shoulder although careful to avoid causing any pain. "I knew that dragon had a good spot in him somewhere. Who knew it'd only take crashing on a deserted island and you almost dying to show it?"

Hiccup frowned, feeling a dull sense of loneliness then fill him. He swallowed thickly. "Yeah... but what about Toothless? He's still gone… and out in that storm..."

As if on cue, the Night Fury suddenly burst out from the underbrush only yards away from them, charging straight at Hiccup with wide, excited eyes and a flapping pink tongue. Hiccup straightened, slipping away from Snotlout's grasp. "Toothless!" he yelled out in delight. "Bud, you found us!"

The dragon and master met together in a warm, powerful hug, more relieved than words that they could see each other again.

Snotlout watched from beside them, smiling with both pride and happiness that the nightmare that had just held them all in its grip was finally over.

Hiccup would live. Snotlout had saved him in the end after all.

Because that's what cousins are for, right? he asked himself.

He grinned as Hiccup looked over at him from Toothless's and his embrace, and the two young men nodded over at each other, smiling in acknowledgement.

Yes.

That was exactly what cousins were for.

WHUMP. 'TIS ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID.

Thank you all for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this gift of mine to you! Thank you animalsarepeopletoo for this idea- I just… FAMILY BONDING IS SO AMAZING! Well, every kind of bonding is amazing, really, hehehehe. Feedback is greatly appreciated if any of you feel like submitting a review below as well, as it took quite a bit to type this 5k word monster up. :) Now, you awesome people go off and have the awesome day that you deserve.

I'll be back… probably.

And you'll be here… maybe. :P

Happy reading!

-thepurplewriter333