Disclaimer: I don't own Hiccup or Merida, obviously. I'm not making any money off this. Both characters and the movies they come from belong to Dreamworks and Disney, respectively. If you really want to see something to blow you away, go watch the movies. Then think about these two interacting. Then you'll see what I mean.

LIMINALITY

Touch

In retrospect, diving from the enemy's dragon and into the icy waters of the Barbaric Archipelago probably didn't improve her chances of survival. Still, Merida much preferred to die by hypothermia rather than being tortured, held for ransom, then killed. If anything, she wouldn't need to smell her kidnappers for much longer.

The cold was unlike anything she'd ever felt before, though she'd grown up swimming in the largest loch in the Highlands. It was as if an icy fist had smashed up and enveloped her. She could hardly breathe, let alone tread the water. She kept kicking her arms and legs out, gasping, and her eyes desperately searched the sky and surrounding coastlines.

Thick, suffocating fog surrounded her in all directions. In all her explorations with Hiccup, they'd never passed through such a seascape—a fortress of fog that concealed small, jagged iron-dark islands separated by treacherous, rushing channels of water. But she'd heard stories.

The Mazy Multitude was among the most dangerous locations in the already dangerous Barbaric Archipelago. It was home to Poisonous Terrors, the deadlier cousin of the Terrible Terrors, hordes of aggressive Changewings and murders of Whispering Death that fixated and pursued until their prey was utterly consumed. But worst of all, Fishlegs had continued over one meal of many in the Meade Hall, were the Outcasts—rapists, oathbreakers and those deemed too bloodthirsty even by Viking standards.

She'd laughed at Fishlegs's breathless story. With her belly full of mead and chicken and Hiccup a warm, smiling presence at her side, she had told Fishlegs that now she definitely had to visit the Mazy Multitude.

Hiccup never had granted that request, no matter how many times she'd suggested it.

The only warning she had was the eerie rush of water before a Whispering Death dove only a few feet from her. Its tail lashed out and hit her hard enough to send her tumbling through the water.

By the time Merida emerged from the choppy waves, spluttering, the Whispering Death had already disappeared in the fog bank. She heard guttural shouts and curses as her kidnappers searched the area for her. She knew they must be close but the fog made everything seem indistinct and hard to hear.

It had been a calculated risk to dive from the dragon, but Merida had no other alternative. No one knew that the enemy rode on dragons and Merida had to slow her pursuers down enough so that a rescue party from Berk could be organized and track her scent. The Mazy Multitude's own natural defences worked for her as well as it did for her kidnappers. Without a tracking dragon, they would need to search for her by sight or sound, both of which were severely hampered by the dense fog.

She just needed to avoid dying from the cold and shock.

Holding a hand against her throbbing side, Merida tried to swim toward a faint line of beach in the distance. It had to be close. It needed to be close.

Splashes of water and roars filled the air but none came near. Merida gritted her teeth. After what seemed like hours of swimming, the beach slowly resolved itself to a firm shape. Nearly sobbing with frustration and pain, Merida swam harder.

"There she is!"

Despairing, she looked back. A low flying Whispering Death and its rider streaked towards her. Using her remaining strength, she dove low just as the Whispering Death rushed past. Her kidnapper's hand didn't even come close. Cursing, he swung back around and shouted at her to remain still.

Merida felt a small bubble of hysterical laughter well up in her. That too had been another calculated risk. Though able to ride dragons, Merida guessed that they hadn't developed the same skill as the Berk dragon riders. If her kidnappers wanted her, they'd need to dive into the water as she did

But the water was a risk she had grossly underestimated. The cold stole every feeling from her limbs. Even with adrenaline pumping through her system, she felt her heartbeat slow. Her eyelids felt heavy. Her kidnappers might end up with her corpse after all.

A familiar shriek pierced the air, followed by the rumble of thunder and electric blue flashes of light. Merida felt a small bubble of hope pierce the freezing numbness. Explosions of sulphurous flame lit the fog from within and Merida could barely make out a night-dark blur and several rounded shapes plummeting to the water with a sickening crack.

The blur resolved itself into Toothless's beloved features, green eyes slitted and searching, and wings extended low over the water. On its back—

"Hiccup." Her voice was barely above a croak. It must have been enough; Toothless's head immediately snapped to her direction. Hiccup turned almost at the same time.

"Merida!"

He had come. He had come despite everything—politics, cultures and common sense—indicating otherwise. He had come though the distance between them was huge, impenetrable. Kingdoms and ranks and obligations separated them as much as the leagues in between them their homes. So there was only one thing to do.

When he leaned away from Toothless, hand held out and face fierce, Merida reached out for him. Warm fingers enclosed hers in an iron grip and plucked her from the numbing sea and into the sky.

Hiccup might have seemed scrawny compared to his peers, but there was only solid strength in his arm as he swung her into the seat behind him. She slumped against his back, hands circling his waist loosely. She felt his hand on top of hers, felt his fingers squeeze her own. She gasped as if only then had she been able to take breath. She buried her face in his back, trying to soak in as much of his warmth as she could. Her shivering was becoming more violent.

Through chattering teeth, she heard him shouting, "You'll be all right. We'll be in Berk soon."

She didn't respond, too numb and exhausted.

"Merida?" His fingers gripped hers tight again. "Merida, answer me!"

She tried to nod, but everything felt stiff. There was a moment's silence then—

"For Thor's sake, why'd you jump into the ocean? Of all the boneheaded things I've seen, and I've seen a lot since I'm a Viking—"

That got her blood going. "Why didn't you come faster?" she snapped through chattering teeth. "You said Toothless was the fastest dragon in the archipelago. Did you stop for breakfast on the way?"

Below them, Toothless gave an offended rumble. Merida didn't see it, but she knew Hiccup had automatically patted his friend's side. "Pay no mind to the crazy Highlander, Toothless. She doesn't know any better."

"No?" If she wasn't so preoccupied with trying to keep warm, she would have throttled him. "Then I suppose the crazy Highlander didn't notice the banner of the murdering Vikings who kidnapped me. I don't suppose she knows who is attacking the settlements on the northern islands. I don't suppose she attempted to slow down her kidnappers so she could give her particularly slow rescuer enough time to catch up."

"You know who's behind the attacks?" He twisted so he could peer back at her. Plastered to his back, Merida glared at him, and then softened. His face was haggard and his eyes were bloodshot. He must have flown a whole day without rest to catch up to her. Now that she was a little warmer, she noticed that he wasn't wearing his armour either. He was only wearing his long sleeved, green tunic and she realized she must have soaked him too.

She wished she had the strength to let him go.

"Don't," he said shortly as if reading her mind.

"But—"

"If you force me to tell our dads that you died from cold after I rescued you, I'll never live it down. Then I'll go to Hel and drag you back by the hair myself."

"Mag Mell," she corrected automatically, giggling.

"Whatever," Hiccup snapped. "See, this is what I mean Toothless. Even when she's more icicle than human, she takes a breath to correct me."

"My dying words will be, 'You got it wrong, Hiccup.'"

"You are not allowed to joke about that." Merida couldn't see his face because he'd already faced forward. She couldn't picture his expression. She'd never heard him so grim or stern. "If you die, I will literally go out of my fricking mind."

She didn't know what to say to that.

"You'll ruin my glorious Viking return."

"Put like that, I might expire on the spot just to see you sweat." She laughed breathlessly.

"Stubborn."

"Know-it-all."

"Foolish!"

"Take off your belt!"

"What?" Hiccup turned back to stare at her again, face red.

"I'm gonna lose my fingers if I keep them out in the wind, you numpty." The rushing wind soaking through her wet clothing was making her feel almost as cold as being in the ocean did. Her fingers around his waist were already numb.

Hiccup paused then grunted in acknowledgement. In a few moments, the belt around his green tunic had been loosened. Immediately, her hands dug underneath his shirt and pressed itself against his abdomen. She felt him jump slightly and then the muscles underneath her fingertips stilled.

Hiccup cleared his throat. "I'd stop to build a fire, but I can't know how many are in the area or what dragons might be attracted."

"I know." With a small sigh, she pressed herself fully against him, body to body. "I'll find some other way to get warm. Just get us home."

Hiccup's concentration was completely fractured, whereas before every scrap of thought had been focused completely on rescuing Merida. As soon as the message had arrived from Berk that the princess had been taken, he hadn't stopped moving, hadn't paused to ask his father for his help or approval, hadn't considered what his actions at the Thing might represent. He hadn't even stopped to wear armor. He'd simply picked up his sword Inferno and left.

Now, their situation was still dire. Odin knew how many hostile dragon riders were circling the area. Equally deadly were the wild dragons inhabiting the Mazy Multitudes. They couldn't slow down; they couldn't fight. Any noise might attract unwanted attention. The only thing they could do was fly.

If she hadn't had the guts or the stupidity to dive into the water to slow down—

Hiccup rubbed her arm absently through his shirt. It wasn't the first time she'd been this close to him. From the very beginning she'd invaded his personal space then retreated, made it difficult to breathe for her closeness and fire and equally difficult to look away for her absence. As their friendship had deepened, she'd thought nothing of touching him. A hand bumping against his stomach, fingers entwined with his, an embrace that lasted mere seconds but lingered for days. It had only been after arrival in Berk, after they'd both stormed and raged against each other, that he'd finally had the courage to do the same—to hold her hand firmly in his hand, to let his fingers drag ghostlike over her arm for attention and to let his arms enfold her in a dance. It was as terrifying and as natural as free fall.

This was different.

The soaked fabric of their clothes did little to hide the softness of her curves pressed against his back, the gentle rise and fall of her abdomen, the length of her legs pressed firmly against his. He was as desperately aware of her as if she was a sword held against his neck. His breath hitched and his trousers felt a little tight.

He nearly jumped out of the seat when Merida's hands began to trace slow, deliberate circles below his navel.

"Merida?" His voice definitely cracked. Toothless flicked an ear back, curious.

"G-gotta k-k-keep warm." Her voice was faint over the wind, exhausted. She nuzzled his back and made the space between his shoulders where her breath puffed out tingle.

"Smart." His fingers found her hands and gently pulled them higher. "Err, just not that area. I'm… I'm ticklish."

Her body quaked with cold, but now she rocked herself back and forth, sliding against him. "G-got-ta k-keep…"

Heat and fear pulsed through Hiccup and made his mouth go dry. Her fingers had drifted below his navel again. He shook himself, desperately trying to reign in his scattered thoughts. This was ridiculous, utterly inappropriate and extremely bad timing. Merida could die and all he could think about was her body?

He was a terrible friend.

"Keep close to the ground, bud," he murmured. "They're gonna expect us in the sky. It'll take longer but they won't notice." The Night Fury crooned low, eyes fixed ahead. Pillars of rock materialized from the fog. Hiccup calculated the distance and knew he'd have to do some quick maneuvering to avoid it. Normally not a problem, but since he had a shivering Merida at his back…

"Merida, the ride is gonna be a little bumpy ahead. Hang on tight." There was a murmur of what might have been acknowledgement, but he couldn't hear over the wind. He rubbed her arms reassuringly before turning his attention ahead.

Merida didn't know how long they'd been flying. Her awareness had narrowed down to Toothless taking them away on swift wings and Hiccup, solid and safe and warm in front of her. She concentrated on ignoring the rush of wind, the biting cold in the air, the pulse and pull of the waters below. If she didn't, she'd start trembling even harder.

Instead, she focused on Hiccup. The dark green fabric was scratchy against her cheek but underneath—the scent of leather, of ocean wind, of air crackling after a lightning strike. She knew she'd never be able to smell any of those things without being reminded of him.

Hiccup leaned forward and Merida moved with him. Her head slumped against his back, felt the firm muscles underneath her fingertips tense and his rump push firmly against her. It was less mirroring his position as it was senselessly, even helplessly, following his own actions. Even in a better condition, she didn't know if she could manage to stay on a dragon flying through the myriad of pillars and islets in the Berserker home.

Toothless banked sharply left then right. Gravity shifted. Hiccup held her arms against his waist, anchoring her to him, and she felt Toothless's acceleration push her back, almost out of her seat. They passed through what felt like a drizzle or a small ocean wave—everything, even Hiccup, was soaked again.

Asked later, Merida couldn't recount how long they flew or what they passed through. Her eyes were closed for most of the journey. The only thing she remembered was Hiccup blazing warmth through the journey, how she'd tried to wrap herself around him as much as she could, arms and legs and all, and the slide of their bodies against each other as he shifted positions to accommodate for Toothless's gears.

Merida did remember desire, though.

"Merida?" Hiccup's hand held hers and the other gently rubbed her leg. He turned to look at her again and she felt the movement all throughout her body. "We're back."

She hadn't noticed. All Merida cared about was the solid, warm length of him pressed against her. She felt nothing but lithe, powerful muscle against her—strong enough to drag her from the ocean, strong enough to ride a dragon, strong and quick enough to match her in a dance or a duel.

"When did you—?" She broke off, confused, and distracted. He had begun rubbing her leg again.

"Merida, we need to get you into dry clothes." His hand disappeared against her leg and she felt him unhook his leg from Toothless's saddle. "Come on."

"D-don't stop," she whispered.

"Don't stop what?"

"Touching me."

Author's Note:

1. Funny story. This was supposed to be for mericcup week, but the original prompt ("If you die, I will literally go out of my mind"-Teen Wolf) didn't make it to the final rounds. I found out AFTER mericcup week started, lol. Yes, dear readers, I'm a regular Sherlock Holmes.

2. I handwave a whole bunch of practical physics (as much practical physics apply in a world of dragons and dragon riders) to get Merida and Hiccup where they need to be. Also fully aware that Merida would warm up faster if she was in the front seat but-never let it be said that I let practicality get in the way of smut!

3. But most of all, I hope ya'll enjoy :)

This was first posted on tumblr under the username nessalk. Drop by and say hi! Thank you to everyone who read/reviewed/favorited/followed the story! EXTRA SPECIAL THANK YOU to my new beta nothingnothingtralala. This chapter is particularly shiny and grammatically error-free because of her :)