Chapter Text
Everything was still a little fuzzy as Fishlegs started taking care of his wound.
First came removing the arrow. Snotlout grunted as Fishlegs pulled the arrow out of his arm, winching at the pain. Hookfang leaned into his rider more, letting Snotlout rest on his side as Fishlegs did his work. Snotlout pet him absentmindedly with his good hand, thankful that his dragon was here with him. Meatlug flew to the nearby river with a cloth, wetting it before returning it to her rider. Fishlegs put the cloth to the wound, then got the rest of his tools out of a pouch on Meatlug’s saddle. It was always a good idea to bring first aid with them while they traveled, as the riders were always ending up in fights.
“It might scar,” Fishlegs began dressing the wound, “But honestly, it’s not too bad. You should heal up fine, Snotlout.”
“Thank Thor. Remember that time I wasn’t allowed to ride for two weeks because I got shot in the leg?”
“And I had to carry you back to bed four times cause you wouldn’t rest? How could I forget?”
“You know I’m not good at listening to people.”
“Apparently, you’re not as bad as I thought,” Fishlegs said, wrapping his arm in bandages, “I heard you earlier, about the Typhoomerang and the blue oleander. You might have fooled the twins, but you can’t fool me.”
“I, uh,” Snotlout’s mouth suddenly felt very dry, “...Maybe I was that one time. Doesn’t mean I’ll do it again.”
Fishlegs shook his head and laughed. Snotlout loved that sound more than anything.
Instead, he gave Meatlug a quick pet on her chin, earning him a satisfied gurgle.
“What you did today was very brave,” he softly said, “Helping Meatlug and I escape the den; it was very kind of you.”
“Hooky did the important bits,” Snotlout admitted, “I just helped him out sometimes.”
“Of course, how could I not thank Hookfang?” Fishlegs said, giving the dragon a scratch under the chin, “You flew wonderfully today, as always.”
Hookfang purred with content.
Snotlout suddenly noticed how close they really were, now with Fishlegs being done bandaging him up. Fishlegs didn't back away, pressing slightly against his knee as they sat in the summer sun. Their hands were nearly touching. A fluttery feeling returned to Snotlout’s stomach as he stared at Fishlegs’ freckled face. He could kiss him right now if he really wanted.
But before Snotlout could muster up the courage to do anything, he heard the wings of a dragon approaching behind them.
“They’re over here, Hiccup,” Astrid said, landing on the beach with Stormfly.
The others soon followed and they both instinctually put some space between themselves, as if they weren't gazing into each other's eyes just moments prior.
“Where have- Wait, what happened to your arm?” Hiccup said.
“Got hit with an arrow,” Snotlout shrugged, standing up and brushing the sand off his clothes, “Fishlegs said it would heal up fine, so don’t worry about it.”
“That makes, what, the sixth time Fishlegs had to patch you up this month?” Astrid said, “It’s like you’re trying to get hurt.”
“Or that these Dragon Hunters are getting more bold,” Fishlegs offered, “We never used to have this many attacks in one month.”
Hiccup opened his mouth to speak, but Snotlout cut him off. “Alright, before you nerds start theorizing and stuff about the Dragon Hunters, can we at least let this one victory sink in?”
“But-” Hiccup started.
“The dragon Hunters will still be there when you’re done, Hiccup. Learn how to relax for once.”
“Are we getting a vacation? Finally, a prize for our efforts?” Tuffnut asked.
“About time,” Agreed Ruffnut, “It takes some serious skill being that good of a distraction, isn’t that right Barf?”
“Okay, okay, I guess we can rest here for a little while, at least until the Dragons are okay to fly back,” Hiccup relented after seeing Toothless curl up in the sun.
Before Hiccup could get another word out, the twins were already speeding off on Barf and Belch to start enacting their vacation dreams.
“Come on, Hookster,” Snotlout said, starting to head off into the mainland.
Hookfang followed him on foot, stomping through the grass.
Somewhere inside, Snotlout hoped Fishlegs would follow too, but there was no way he could ask him that while Astrid and Hiccup were right there.
Back inland, the Typhoomerangs seemed much more at peace with both the Dragon Hunters and Blue Oleander gone. They didn’t pay the riders any mind, their metaphorical olive branch after the riders had saved their eggs.
After a while, Snotlout spotted Fishlegs again, studying a family of Typhoomerangs expectantly as Meatlug nibbled on some nearby rocks.
Snotlout walked over. “You still cant take up the opportunity to relax, can you?” He said, sitting next to him.
“I am relaxing!”
“No, you’re not, you’re taking notes,” Snotlout corrected, “Aka, doing work. I swear, you and Hiccup are the same sometimes.”
“I might never get the opportunity to study Typhoomrangs and their young again, Snotlout, I can’t pass up that opportunity,” He said, but decided to put his book away.
Snotlout lied back in the grass, then patted his side, motioning for Fishlegs to lie down next to him. Fishlegs followed suit, and then it was just them, onlooking the sky of puffy white clouds rolling by, listening to the shuffle of grass and each other's breathing.
“...I didn’t really think that you’d miss me,” Snotlout admitted.
“Why wouldn’t I miss you?” Fushlegs asked.
“Um, hello? I’m Snotlout,” He said, “The same guy who calls your plants dumb and makes fun of you for being a huge nerd. Not exactly the kind of guy you’d wanna hang out with.”
“You don’t mean it, though.”
Snotlout scoffed. “How do you know?”
“Cause if you did, you wouldn’t be lying here with me right now,” He said, “And you wouldn’t come to my peace garden every day, you wouldn’t fetch me stuff when I ask. You wouldn't have saved Meatlug and I from the Typhoomerangs, or sang to baby dragons, or done any of what you did today. You’re not a bad person Snotlout, far from it.”
“And… I like hanging out with you,” Fishlegs said, touching his pinky against Snotlout’s own.
Snotlout did not swoon. He didn’t swoon because no serious Viking swooned like a damsel being rescued. So swooning was completely out of the question.
But at that moment, he came very close.
His heart felt like it would beat right out of his chest. It was like electricity, starting from the touch and buzzing up his spine, warm and soft and horribly distracting. He was feeling every emotion at once, and it was awful.
He needed to do something- anything to get rid of this terrible lovesickness he was feeling.
“I uh- I wanna show you something,” He said, getting up before Fishlegs could see how red his face was, “Come on Hooky, and uh, Meatlug too.”
“Um, okay,” Fishlegs said, a little confused.
Walking around let Snotlout clear his head a bit, away from sappy gross thoughts about actually Fishlegs liking hanging out with him. That could mean practically anything, it definitely wasn’t any reason to get overly excited.
Snotlout led them into the forest, following the river until he reached a familiar spot.
Fishlegs gasped.
There, between the tall trees and grass, were the orchids, standing proudly with thier soft pink petals and green leaves. Fishlegs kneeled before them, carefully turning over the petals in his soft hands.
“You… found these for me?” He said, amazed.
Snotlout shrugged. “I just… remembered I had passed by an island with a similar-looking flower. Or uh, Hooky remembered and told me. I was going to bring them back to you, until the whole Dragon Hunter situation happened.”
“Snotlout Gary Jorgenson.”
Snotlout stiffened at the sound of his full name. Suddenly Fishlegs was standing in front of him, and Snotlout felt dwarfed by just how much taller he was.
“Yes?” He practically squeaked.
“You mean to tell me, that you charted a course to a random island, flew for two days, saved the Typhoomerang eggs, fought off Dragon Hunters, got shot in the arm, and nearly drowned… just because you wanted to complete my peace garden?” His gaze was so intense that Snotlout felt like he could melt right then and there.
“Maybe?” He said, his voice small.
Fishlegs couldn’t help but smile. “That,” he started, “is both the dumbest and sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
“...Should I focus on the dumb part or the sweet part?” Snotlout asked, a warm feeling in his chest.
Fishlegs shook his head. “The sweet part, Snotlout.”
“Oh. Okay.”
The tension was back between the two, and Snotlout was back to feeling like his heart was going to burst. Didn’t he come here to escape these feelings? Fishlegs was right there in front of him, with his gorgeous emerald green eyes and fluffy blond hair, looking as bright and happy as a summer’s day, and Snotlout was filled with the urge to run away. He took a little step back, but Hookfang nudged him back forward with his snout.
The look Hookfang gave was clear; it was time. Taking Meatlug with him, the Monstrous Nightmare flew off beyond the trees, leaving the two Vikings alone together. Snotlout’s heart was beating so loud, he swore you could hear it from the Edge. Hel, maybe even Berk.
“So,” Fishlegs said, wringing his fingers.
“So,” Snotlout responded, unable to think of anything else to say.
“Snotlout, I'm really flattered that you would do something like this for me,” Fishlegs started, “Really, I am. It’s just… You always do things, but never tell me why. I know we had this unspoken thing going on at the peace garden, but I can’t live in uncertainty forever, Snotlout. I want to know why you do all these things for me; why you stay in the garden, why you went out of your way to get me the orchids, why you’ve spent so much time with me. Please,” He added.
“...Isn't it obvious?” Snotlout said.
“Not really.”
Snotlout sighed. He had to say something. He had to get this horrible. dizzying feeling off his chest so maybe he’d be okay again.
“...I’ve been trying to find the perfect time to tell you this, cause you’re so perfect and pretty and smart and I’m just a mutton-head, and you deserve something really special, but every single time I try, it feels like my heart is going to give out. I don’t know if this is any good, but if I don’t say something now I’ll never have the confidence to say something ever again, so here you go, I guess.”
Snotlout took a deep breath, not daring to look at Fishlegs.
“I like you. A lot,” He said, “So much that I’ve got all these gross, soft fluffy thoughts in my brain that I don’t know what to do with whenever I’m around you. And I don’t really know what to do about it.”
There was a moment of horrible silence, where Snotlout was unsure if Fishlegs would flat-out reject him or worse , laugh at him and his shoddy confession.
“...You could kiss me,” Fishlegs finally said.
Snotlout nearly choked. “What?”
“You said you didn’t know what to do about it,” Fishlegs explained, “You could kiss me. Haven’t you thought about it?”
“Yeah,” Snotlout barely breathed, “A lot, actually.”
“Then go ahead.”
Snotlout looked up at him, with every bit of the gentle nervousness he felt. Fishlegs looked so full of love then, soft and sweet, as Snotlout reached his hands out to cup the sides of his face. Snotlout closed his eyes, standing on his tiptoes, and Fishlegs leaned down just a bit.
Fishlegs’ lips were just as warm and soft as he’d imagined.
He might have cried just a little bit, the object of his yearning kissing him being too much and not enough at the same time. He felt like a dam had broken inside of him, of every emotion he had tried to repress and ignore and hide rushing out of him like a river. He channeled every bit of that into the kiss and more. He felt like he could die happy.
It ended all too early, with Snotlout desperate for more, but not wanting to scare off Fishlegs. The taller Viking blinked, looking a little dazed.
“I- um… wow,” He said.
“Was that good?” Snotlout tentatively asked, now very self-conscious.
“Snotlout, that was perfect,” Fishlegs said, “And I really want to do it again. Cause I like you too,” He added.
Snotlout giggled. He couldn’t help it, he was just so overjoyed. Fishlegs started laughing too, and for a moment it was just them, laughing at themselves.
Fishlegs tried to kiss him again, but they couldn’t stop giggling. It was much messier than their first kiss, their teeth accidentally knocking against each other as they laughed. Snotlout thought it was perfect.
“So does this mean you’ll date me?” Snotlout asked once they’d stopped giggling, holding onto the other’s hand.
“Yes, Snotlout, I’ll date you.”
“And I can call you my boyfriend?”
“Only if I can call you mine.”
“And you promise you won’t get tired of me? Or say I’m too much work?”
“I promise,” Fishlegs gave his hand a gentle squeeze and smiled at him, warm and gentle and sweet.
Snotlout’s heart did a little flip, and he couldn’t resist kissing Fishlegs again, right there and them. There were many more kisses before they heard Hiccup calling them to get ready to fly back to the Edge. And Snotlout was sure there would be many more kisses in the future too.
Because being with Fishlegs was like paradise, and Snotlout never wanted to leave.