"Brother!"
Hiccup spun on heel and tried to get away from the ginger gymrat, but Dagur was faster and quickly wrapped his gigantic arms around Hiccup.
"Hey, careful Dagur! Toothless is back there. How ya been?" Hiccup scolded as he was embraced by Dagur's large, buff arms.
"Kinda pissed." Dagur replied with mock anger, before separating Hiccup from himself. "You've been flaking on us, brother!"
"Almost as if you got me drunk and grounded the last time we hung out…" Hiccup responded dryly.
"Just admit you had fun, you big baby boo." A feminine voice stated, sidling up behind the skinny and scrawny man, digging through his backpack to pet the more popular kitty.
Unlike her brother Dagur, Heather was short and thin with long, black hair that framed her face and cascaded down her back. She was dressed in a casual/punk aesthetic and had a bemused smirk on her face as she eyed Hiccup, her other brother by everything but blood. Oswald and Stoick, having been great friends since college and both settling down in the same neighborhood meant that the two dad's were quick to introduce their little ones to each other.
Dagur and Heather had know Hiccup all his life, so them deciding to call each other as siblings came as no surprise to anyone. Stoick welcomed it, in fact, especially since as Hiccup grew, he became more and more introverted. Dagur and Heather dragged the scrawny auburn out of his shell and in turn kept the two in line, especially Dagur. Hiccup was about to respond with a usual snarky comment, but was cutoff by the bell.
"We're hanging out today. No way out of it, Hiccup." Heather stated with a small smile.
"I will carry you out of your room if I have to!" Dagur threatened playfully.
"Now get to class, Hiccup." Heather stated.
"Thanks for ganging up on me." Hiccup stated sarcastically. "What ever happened to sibling love?"
Before they could get one more word in, Hiccup turned on heel and headed for class. His snarky attitude required he always get the last word, which certainly got on people's nerves, but he didn't care because most people got on his. Which is exactly what spawned the sarcasm and dry humor to begin with. It was a defense mechanism.
He loved Dagur and Heather, but his social battery was quick to drain. One night with them meant three days to recharge. Hiccup was the type unable to hide his feelings on his face. when he was worn out and needing to go home, everyone would know by the exasperation on his face. Didn't help that he wanted to leave by third class, but despite the scowl his face he was kind to everyone.
The day proceeded as normal, slogging through classes and trying hard to pay attention to anything. A test in math that he knew he aced, a group project with Dagur and Heather in history that extended to their lunch break, Toothless getting into the kitchen and bothering the lunch ladies, all in all a normal day. When the final bell rang and the students were free to get home, Hiccup tracked down his only friends, who just so happened to be waiting for him near his bike.
"When are you coming over?" Hiccup greeted as he and Toothless strode up to the siblings.
"Gonna have to be a little later than usual." Heather stated, making her way behind Hiccup. "Gotta run to the store with dad real quick, he didn't have enough ingredients for his Frito pie, I mean Fritos are in the name! How do you forget to buy them?"
"Hel yeah! Gonna have to grab a bite before we head out!" Hiccup said with fondness, his favorite dish for sure, but none could compare to Oswald's, sorry dad.
"Why do they cook things for these get-togethers anyway?" Dagur asked, watching as his sister ruffled around in Hiccup's backpack to play with the green-eyes kitty. "I mean Alvin and, no offense, you dad cannot cool to save their lives!"
"He's getting better at breakfast!" Hiccup was quick to defend. "But yeah he's no professional. He says that because they're drinking so heavily the nights they hang out, they need to balance their alcohol with a full belly, else the effect will surely knock 'em off their asses."
"Smart that one. Never drink on an empty stomach!" Dagur warned. "Why do you think I kept insisting you eat last time?"
Hiccup rolled his eyes and unlocked his bike from the rack. "You're an ass, Dagur."
"What? It loosened you up! You even spoke to a girl that wasn't me!" Heather spoke up, hand on her hip, eyebrow raised in amusement with a small smile.
"You almost got her number too, but she wasn't good for you, brother." Dagur added.
"Enough about my love life, or lack thereof! I gotta get home to help dad cook, else Alvin is gonna start cheating again." Hiccup swung a leg over his bike and rested a foot on the left petal. "I'll see you guys later, love ya."
"Love you too, dork." Heather rolled her eyes. Dagur shared a similar sentiment.
Hiccup smiled at them and began peddling down the hilly streets. The evergreen trees flew past and a few stray orange leaves crunched underneath the red wheels. People's porches were housing shovels, salt and chains, preparation for the snow and ice that the mountains always housed when it became too cold. He loved winter and didn't mind the snow, you had to go into the winters with a good attitude otherwise it'd be hell. It also didn't hurt he shoveled driveways for extra money, never helped his muscle mass though.
Biking through the small downtown, Hiccup waved to his neighbors as he always has; Johann whom he traded trinkets to and for, Gothi who would pay him for shoveling her driveway in cat food—he didn't want to take money from an old lady—and Grimmel a hunter who sold his dad venison. He knew everyone and everyone knew him in this small, quiet mountain village and Hiccup loved it. If he could he'd spend the rest of his life here.
He always felt in his element when biking. The worries of grades, deadlines and tests never reached him when he and Toothless had the wind on their faces and everything was a blur. He was simply free of it all as he closed his eyes and barreled down the streets. But something ate at him, some nagging part of his brain told him to open his eyes, NOW! He tried to ignore it, but as he felt the familiar bend in the road that led to his neighbor hood he finally listened. Smoke was rising into the air as if Loki's daughter was reaching for the Aesir themselves. His stomach dropped as his house came into view.