Snotlout works on figuring out how to take care of a baby fireworm while also trying to avoid the rest of the gang as much as possible

also I have decided to make this tufflout... so enjoy that :)

Snotlout had taken care of hatchlings before. The first time he ever had was on the first Snoggletog with the dragons. It was everyone else's first time too, so it didn't feel too bad when he messed something up.

He could still remember the little monstrous nightmare that he had placed on one of the large tables in the great hall. The little guy was jumping up at his upheld hand and trying to bite his fingers.

So far, Spitfire shared that trait. She liked to gnaw on things too, which often led to something getting set on fire. It had been a couple of days since she was added to the family, and Snotlout still didn't have the best preventative for that.

She also still loved climbing all over Snotlout, why she ignored the fireproof dragon for a fragile, fleshy human, he had no idea. She loved to do it at night too, curling up on his side until he jolted awake with the discovery of a new burn.

He had had to make multiple trips back to the clubhouse to get more bandages and burn cream, which worried whoever happened to be in the room at the time. Except the twins, they just snickered and pointed at Snotlout as if he wasn't standing right next to them. He didn't have a fic for that problem either, both the twins and the continuous burns.

The next problem he faced was food, which was something they honestly were both struggling with. He hadn't really been to the clubhouse for dinner since he'd been taking care of Spitfire. Something about it just felt wrong. He'd taken his meals to his hut for the past few days, partly so he could see what Spitfire liked to eat.

He still wasn't sure what fireworms liked to eat. He had tried fish, rocks, bugs, and even eels! It wasn't much of a surprise, but she shied away from the slithering thing and proceeded to avoid Snotlout the rest of the day. Though, he woke up in the middle of the night again to her trying to cuddle.

So far, funnily enough, she liked worms the best, but she still ate them reluctantly. Despite the little guys being one of the more docile "untrainable" dragons, neither Hiccup nor Fishlegs thought it would be worth it to figure out what they ate. Maybe he'd actually be more knowledgeable about a dragon than the two brainiacs were for once (though no one knew more about monstrous nightmares than him).

Snotlout, having found at least one thing she would eat, was currently trying to dig up as many worms as possible. It was a task a lot more difficult than it sounded. He only had a few of them, and had been digging for about an hour. His little Spitfire would need to get some new preferences if his luck stayed this bad.

The thought made something ache in his chest. Snotlout didn't want to force feed the hatchling something she didn't want. He had already taken her away from her home and put her in a dangerous, new environment.

He knows, deep down, that Hiccup had a point about getting her someplace she could really grow, but he couldn't just leave her out in the wild. She couldn't breathe fire, her claws and teeth were hardly sharp enough to draw blood, and she still wasn't even that warm yet! The only reason he had gotten burned so many times was because of long contact, and that'll do her no good against predators. Not to mention that Snotlout was fairly sure Spitfire was just as clueless about her diet as he was.

All in all, she was staying, end of discussion. And she couldn't stay, he would be happy to leave and take her back to Berk. Though, that would probably be worse than the Edge.

Snotlout groaned and hung his head. This was useless. He didn't know how to find worms other than digging in the dirt, and that was hardly working. He couldn't even get the worms they use for bait either since the little rascal needed to learn to catch live food.

"Snotlout?" a, somehow, degrading voice started from behind him. "What are you doing digging in the dirt?"

Snotlout startled and turned around quickly. Astrid was staring down at him with a brow raised. She was holding her axe, which probably meant she had been looking for a good place to go axe-throwing.

"Oh- Astrid! Hey…" Snotlout said nervously as he got to his feet. He started doing something to fidget with his hands, but they were covered in dirt. He subconsciously scrunched up his nose at the feeling of the coating of soil.

"I was just digging… for worms…" he explained, trailing off with a crooked smile. He gestured down at the pathetic pile he had gathered.

"For worms?" she said, her tone making Snotlout want to shrivel up and die.

"For Spitfire, it's the only thing she'll eat." he added with a cough. He looked back down at his embarrassing pile and debated just giving up and hoping Spitfire would have enough until he had a chance to get more.

"There's nothing else?" She asked. He frowned at the suspicion lacing her tone. I don't know Astrid, I only tried worms! He thought to himself.

"Not that I know of." He grumbled. Snotlout regarded the pile for another moment, then he leaned down and scooped it up. The worms writhed in his hands and he suppressed a gag.

"Well she's probably waiting for some snacks, so I better go!" He said quickly, already walking past the girl and towards his hut.

"Do you need us to get anymore?" She called after him.

"No it's fine!" He yelled back, because how embarrassing would that be? How is he supposed to take care of a baby dragon if he can't even get her food on his own?

When he made it back to his hut, it was to the smell of smoke and his dragon running around outside with his wings outstretched in a panic.

Snotlout's shoulders slumped and he let out an annoyed groan.

He dropped his meager pile onto the ground and ran towards his hut. There weren't any flames that he could see, so he was hoping it was something small. Knowing his luck, he didn't hold his breath.

Once he made it to the hut, he swung open the door. A plume of smoke blew into his face and he let out several coughs.

Snotlout gagged on the smell, but he went into the hut. His eyes watered as he ran up the stairs to his bedroom.

Maybe Thor was looking down on him, because it was only his sheets that were ablaze. He grabbed them and threw them onto the floor, stomping on them until they went out.

Snotlout rushed to open every door and window in his hut, then we went back outside. He practically collapsed into the ground once he was out.

Hookfang, with the little arsonist sitting on his snout, came and nudged Snotlout's shoulder. Snotlout patted his nose, then carefully tapped Spitfire's head to let her too.

Snotlout heard the sound of wingbeats behind him, and his shoulders slumped further. He turned around to see Hiccup landing a bit behind him.

The rider ran over to Snotlout, with his dragon trotting behind with little worry. Snotlout screamed internally.

"What happened!?" Hiccup demanded.

"I left for a bit to get Spitfire food and she set fire to my bed." Snotlout explained, fighting to keep the tiredness from his voice. It ended up with him sounding more frustrated and whiny, but he could live with that.

Hiccup looked from the house to the little fireworm. He sighed, placing a hand on his hip and using the other to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Snotlout, listen," Hiccup started, "you can't take care of a baby fireworm on your own." He insisted.

Snotlout scowled. He could take care of any other baby dragon, why not a fireworm? They're smaller and at least don't breathe fire every two seconds. He made a mistake and he could learn from it.

"Hiccup, it's been like three days!" Snotlout yelled, holding up three fingers for emphasis, "of course I'm gonna make a couple of mistakes! My house isn't fucking fireproof, Hiccup, nothing on this island is!" He finished, gesturing wildly.

Hiccup looked startled, to say the least. No one was ever surprised when Snotlout yelled, but sometimes he could hit them with something new, something that made them turn around and think that they aren't always the smartest person in the room.

"Snotlout, I understand you want to do this-"

"Yeah, and I will do it!" He interrupted, "I'm gonna make sure that little fireworm is safe and grows to be the best fucking queen the archipelago has ever seen!" He pointed a finger and pushed Hiccup's chest as he said it. Toothless let out a small warning growl, which led to Hookfang spreading out his wings further.

"Yeah, I get that," Hiccup's voice started to raise too, "but you can't-"

He was once again interrupted when Spitfire jumped off of Hookfangs snout. She hopped onto Snotlout's shoulder and let out a long rasp that could've been a roar if she was bigger. Her body glowed brighter and Snotlout could feel heat through the leather of his tunic.

That seemed to silence the whole group. Snotlout and Hiccup both stared at the little fireworm. He let a small smile grace his lips and he patted Spitfire's head in thanks.

Hiccup let out a soft sigh. He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose again.

Toothless rubbed against Hiccup with a croon and the Viking placed his hand on the dragon. "Yeah, I know bud." He muttered, almost enough for Snotlout to not hear it.

"Snotlout," Hiccup started again, much quieter this time. "You're right."

Snotlout blinked. Okay… that was honestly new. I mean, he was right all the time! Of course he was, he's Snotlout… it just never really got acknowledged like that.

"I-I am?" He asked in disbelief. He knew this time he was stretching it, taking care of a hatchling was difficult at best, and he never expected Hiccup to trust him to do it. He still didn't hold much hope for it.

"Yes, yes you are." Hiccup doubled down, "that dragon needs someone to take care of her and she clearly trusts you a lot." He gestured to where she still sat on Snotlout's shoulder.

Her wings were outstretched, like she still saw Hiccup as a threat. She snapped at him when he gestured to her, and he pulled his hand back quickly.

"I think maybe it would be best for her to stay here." Hiccup declared finally. Snotlout's heart leapt into his threat and he released a breath that he didn't know he had been holding.

"Seriously?" He asked, eyes wide and hopeful. Then, the Viking coughed and cleared his throat, "I mean, it's not like I needed your permission!" He corrected, rolling his eyes.

Spitfire chirped at him. She rubbed her head against Snotlout's cheek. He thought she was starting to get hotter, he could still feel a sting after he stopped.

"But we need to lay some ground rules." Hiccup continued, immediately souring a bit of Snotlout's mood. Telling a full grown dragon what to do was one thing, but a baby? You might as well argue with a Berserker.

"Firstly, if she's gonna stay here, she needs to be properly taken care of, and you can't do that on your own." He started, Snotlout scowled. "You have to let us all help." He demanded.

Snotlout was silent for a moment. He wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. He could take care of her; he didn't need the others' help. He knew if they did they'd just be second-guessing him the entire time.

He looked at Hiccup again, who was staring at him with a brow raised. Snotlout didn't really have much of a choice, did he?

"Fine. Whatever- but you're still backup!" He relented, adding on his own term to the deal.

"Of course, you're clearly her favorite anyway," Hiccup agreed with a chuckle.

"Second," he continued, "we need to keep her somewhere fireproof. Maybe the stables-"

"She's staying with me." Snotlout interrupted. He wasn't leaving this for discussion.

"Your hut almost burnt down," Hiccup reasoned.

"Then we should find a way to fireproof it." He suggested with a determined scowl.

"Snotlout, you have to understand-" he didn't have to do anything. He's been the one taking care of her and he would continue to do so. She didn't like being alone, even if she had other dragons with her, and Snotlout did not want to sleep in the stables.

"No, Hiccup." Snotlout said forcefully, "she's staying with me." He declared.

Hiccup let out another sigh. Both Toothless and Hookfang chuckled in low rumbles.

"Alright fine, she stays with you." He gave in, his tone exasperated, "but you can't keep letting something like this," he gestured towards the smoke still billowing out of Snotlout's house, "happen." he finished.

"I can handle it." Snotlout declared. Hookfang set his body on fire every time he got a little annoyed, he knew how to handle things like that. How difficult could it be?

Turns out, a fireworm starting fires is a lot more difficult to prevent than a monstrous nightmare starting fires.

Snotlout had been through three pairs of bedsheets in just a few days. Every time he left to find some new food for her to try, she made herself comfortable on his bed and ended up causing it to burst into flames.

He was actually debating if moving into the stables would be easier after all. He could handle the smell, probably. Then again, the combination of Barf and Belch's flammable gas and Meatlug's other kind of gas would smoke him out of there faster than his burning bed.

He was currently sitting outside of his hut, leaning against the door on the raised wooden pathway. He felt exhausted. Spitfire kept waking him up at night by almost burning his skin off; which was unfair since every time she only ever tries to snuggle.

The little arsonist was sitting in his helmet, which he had rested on his lap. She was getting warmer, and he didn't trust himself to be able to keep her off of him once it started to burn.

Snotlout already had some burns that he knew would turn into scars. Add another to the collection, he supposed. He knew his legs had an assortment of burn scars from when he first started riding Hookfang and before he had gotten a saddle. Now his hands and shoulders would match.

At least with his shoulders he had the leather padding of his tunic, but his hands were another story. He still had them bandaged, since every time he took them off he just got burnt again. Snotlout wasn't sure what he was supposed to do about that.

Spitfire chirped up at him. He looked down to see her staring up at him expectantly. He sighed and leaned his head back against his door, making it bump against the wood with a small thud.

He grabbed a worm from the tiny pile he had brought out with him (he was seriously starting to hate touching the slimy things), and dangled it over Spitfire. She jumped up and down to try and catch it, but Snotlout kept on raising his arm higher so she couldn't reach.

"Oh, is this what you want?" he asked, his voice teasing, "you want the gross little worm, huh?" it wasn't bad to call her food gross to her face, right? It's not like she understood english.

Spitfire chirped and spun around in a circle. She put her front feet on the rim of his helmet and opened her mouth to try and snap at the worm. Snotlout chuckled and gave it to her, tired of holding onto the squirming creature.

She smacked her lips as she ate, almost as if she was exaggerating the action. Then she spun around again until she settled and lied down. At least his helmet couldn't catch fire while she slept. It couldn't have been pleasant to wake up to your bed on fire. He would know, actually.

Snotlout was alerted to being hungry too when his stomach growled. He frowned and let out another sigh.

The Jorgenson got up, careful not to jostle Spitfire awake, and headed towards the club house. It was about lunch time now. He had missed breakfast since he was looking for more food for Spitfire. He really should have stopped by the clubhouse and grabbed something that he could eat on the way.

He walked along the wooden pathway, his helmet in his hands, until he made it to the club house. He frowned when he heard voices inside. He really didn't want to deal with anyone at the moment, and it was painfully difficult to take food to his hut with the others there.

He paused for a moment, biting his lip as he thought. Then Snotlout shrugged and whirled around to head back to his hut. Food could wait, in about an hour they would all be off to their own things again anyway.

"Snotlout?" someone asked from behind him. He cringed internally, but fought for his shoulders not to slump with annoyance.

"Oh hey," He turned back around, "Tuff, what'cha doin'?" he asked, as casually as he could. He smiled, though it must have been more of a grimace when Tuffnut scrunched up his nose.

"Eating lunch with the others," he answered carefully, "shouldn't you be doing that too?" he added, a combination of suspicion and concern lacing his voice.

"No, I- uh- had a big breakfast!" He lied, that was something he was usually good at, hopefully his greatest skill wouldn't fail him now.

Unfortunately, Tuffnut did not look convinced. For a moment Snotlout wondered why he even bothered trying to get Tuffnut off his back, it's not like the Thorston could tell him what to do. But, Snotlout realized, he could tell Hiccup, and Hiccup could be more annoying than the twins with his coddling.

"So, what are you doing here?" Tuffnut asked. Why was he so nosey all of the sudden? Couldn't he just go back inside and have fun with the others?

"I was just taking Spitfire for a walk!" Snotlout snapped. He snapped his mouth shut with an audible clack and suppressed a sigh. "Listen- I'm gonna go back to my hut." He said, much quieter. He started walking away before Tuffnut grabbed his shoulder.

"Before you go, me and Ruff thought up a good prank that we could use the fireworm in! You wanna help?" He said quickly. He sounded eager. Snotlout pressed his lips together in a thin line.

Tuffnut looked excited, and strangely hopeful. Snotlout's brow furrowed as he watched Tuff's smile slowly falter at his silence.

"Maybe later," he relented. He couldn't bring himself to really smile, but he hoped the sentiment was there.