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“You!” Dagur heard a very familiar voice behind him.
“Sister!” he called to Heather when he saw her standing at the clubhouse entrance. Overjoyed, he stood up, spread his arms open, and started approaching his sister with a wide smile. The smile was short-lived however when he realized that Heather wasn't as thrilled to see her brother as he was. He froze when the blade of her double-sided axe stopped mere inches from his face.
Heather stared at him, her emerald green eyes fixed on his. That's when he first realized he wasn't welcome here by his sister.
When she put down her axe, Dagur relaxed a bit and tried to hide his nerves behind a playful smile. “I guess a hug is out of the question?” he shrugged, hoping that humor would loosen the tension of the situation.
It didn’t.
Instead, he felt Heather's fist meeting his nose. A sharp pain went over the redhead’s entire face and he was sent to the ground.
All the riders gasped out. They stared at Dagur who was now on all fours and then at Heather, who just shook out her hand and massaged her wrist. She didn’t look proud, but she certainly didn't feel sorry either. With a grunt, Dagur grabbed his aching nose, and to his relief, he didn't feel any sign of it being broken. He slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurry, his head dizzy. He never would have expected Heather to punch him this hard.
“Dagur!” Hiccup cried and rushed to the injured Berserker. “Are you alright?”
Dagur sensed Hiccup kneeling beside him, but didn’t look in his direction. He was distracted by the droplets of blood that started dripping onto the wooden floor. He pulled his hand away and looked into his palm. There was a lot of blood.
“I’ve been through worse,” he brushed it off, now trying to get up on his feet, but his head made it hard to keep his balance.
Hiccup immediately rushed to a nearby chest, took out a piece of clean fabric, and brought it to Dagur. As he pressed it to his bleeding nose, he looked around at all his friends. They were just staring, not doing or saying anything, and Heather clearly had no remorse over her actions. Was Hiccup really the only one who cared about Dagur at least a little?
“Hiccup, I can’t believe you kept my Heather from me,” Dagur suddenly spoke when he stood up and leaned against Hiccup for stability, holding the cloth to his nose. “I was so worried! Was she alive? Was she dead?”
Hiccup wanted to tell him to relax and sit in silence for a minute until the bleeding stops, but Dagur seemed way too distraught for that. And so did Heather.
“Oh please, drop the act,” Heather snarled at her brother. “And you!” she glared at the auburn standing between the Berserker siblings, “It’s bad enough that you were consorted with my mortal enemy!”
There were whispers and a giggle coming from the twins, but Hiccup couldn't make anything of it.
“Heather, he saved my life,” Hiccup spoke softly, trying to defend both Dagur and himself.
“I don’t care!” she exclaimed. “You think it's a coincidence that he shows up now? Before this mission? It’s a setup, Hiccup. Can’t you see that?”
Hiccup kept silent. She had a point, but he felt like that couldn't be the truth. Dagur had changed and Hiccup saw it. Hiccup saw a side of Dagur that Heather never did. A side that gave Hiccup hope that the man was now on the right path. Dagur made him feel different. Was he still intimidating? Yes. But so many things about him were different.
Heather kept going. “He sent me adrift as a child! He killed our father, for Thor’s sake! He tried to kill each of us multiple times!”
She walked up to her brother, her eyes filled with anger and disgust. Dagur kept his gaze on her, eyes filled with sadness. He understood that Heather wasn’t willing to forgive him that easily, but never would he expect her to be this cold. It hurt.
“Most, if not all of those things are true,” he finally spoke, pulling the bloody cloth away from his nose so his words wouldn’t get lost through the fabric. “But I am trying to change, sister.”
He still hoped that she would listen, but then the blade of Heather’s axe was pressed to his throat again.
“Don’t ever call me that, spy! ”
“I’m not a spy,” he argued, pushing the blade away from his throat. “I don’t know how I could possibly prove that, but I guess you'll just have to take my word for it.”
The room fell silent, again. He looked to Hiccup, anticipating something in Dagur’s defense, a smile, a nod, anything. But Hiccup did nothing. Dagur slowly looked around the room at each rider, hoping someone would defend him, but no one spoke. Did the things they had all done together that day mean nothing? Not even to Fishlegs? He thought they were friends now since they both owned a Gronckle and had so much fun training together. Was all of that out the window, too?
His eyes slowly filled up with tears, which only distracted him from the blood that ran from his nose to his lips. This was like receiving another punch, this time to his heart.
He was not welcome here.
“Yeah… I don't think I would take it either if I were you,” he sighed, looking down at the ground as he struggled to hold the tears in. “I think Shattermaster and I should be going. Good day…”
“Oh, come on, Dagur,” the auburn finally realized he should have said something, but it was too late now.
“I said good day. ”
And with that, Dagur went for the entrance of the clubhouse and walked out into the cold night. Everyone watched as he left the room and disappeared.
“Was he crying?” asked Snotlout.
“Yeah. Tears of laughter. At us .” Heather hissed.
Hiccup had enough of Heather. She had every reason to be mad at her brother, but she gave him no room to explain himself. Neither did the riders earlier that day. Hiccup was the one talking for Dagur when the riders found out about him, so why didn’t he defend him now? He felt guilt in his stomach.
“I should probably talk to him before he goes.”
***
Dagur was heading to the stables so he and Shattermaster could leave. He felt sick. Both because of the punch to his nose and because of what had happened. He felt so betrayed by everyone, especially Hiccup.
He walked past the auburn’s hut and couldn't help but look at it. The door was open and there was a table with a big piece of cloth over it, clearly covering up something. There was a small wooden model of a ship lying on the ground. Dagur stopped in his steps. This setup looked too suspicious, and it didn't take him long before he put the pieces together. He rushed in and took off the piece of fabric, uncovering what seemed to be a plan for whatever mission the riders kept referring to.
“Dagur, I’m sorry I didn't-” Hiccup spoke when he found the redhead in his hut but was cut off when he noticed what was going on. “What are you doing?”
Dagur turned to him, one hand still holding the bloody tissue to his nose, the other holding the small wooden ship. “Everyone kept dropping hints about some big mission. I thought I should take a look. Heather may hate me, but do not want her flying any suicide mission.”
Those words put Hiccup at ease. To him, it was another piece of proof that the redhead had changed.
“It’s a shipyard. Viggo is…”
Hiccup trailed off when he noticed Dagur quickly putting the cloth to his nose again when a droplet of blood fell onto the table.
“Is it still bleeding that much?” he asked.
“N-no, it's fine," Dagur lied, trying not to look at Hiccup.
"Are you okay?"
"I said, it's fine. It'll stop in a minute."
"I don't mean your nose. Well, that of course too, I mean… are you okay?"
Dagur looked at Hiccup who genuinely seemed worried. He didn't respond. He didn't know how. He didn't want to be a burden to Hiccup any longer and cause any more trouble.
"Let me take a look at you," the auburn took a step closer, and tried to pull Dagur's hand away from his face so he could check his nose. Dagur wanted to resist, but with a sigh, he let Hiccup pull his hand away.
"There's definitely gonna be a bruise," Hiccup commented before he ordered Dagur to sit on a chest that was right behind him. He then got a bit closer and gently ran his fingers over Dagur's hooked nose. "It's pretty swollen. Does it hurt?"
"Yeah. A lot actually," Dagur responded as he relaxed his body, then hissed when Hiccup touched a sensitive spot. Hiccup pulled away and went into his hut, then came back with two clean cloths and a small bucket of cold water.
"She punched me real hard. I-I didn't expect her to act this way."
"Neither did I," Hiccup shook his head, took the dirty piece of fabric away, and gave Dagur a clean one. "Well… she did say yesterday that if she saw you, she'd split you in two, so I shouldn't be surprised."
Dagur chuckled. "Then I guess this was just a fraction of what I should expect from her."
Hiccup huffed at that remark and looked into Dagur's eyes. They both fell silent for a moment as Hiccup took the second cloth, soaked it in cold water, and got even closer to Dagur to press the fabric to the bridge of his nose. Dagur sighed in relief at that, but he kept his hooded eyes fixed on the auburn. He felt his heart thump in his chest. Hiccup was so close to him. He was never this close of his own will and Dagur swore he felt butterflies in his stomach. Now was not a good time to get flustered and think about his feelings.
"Sorry I didn't say anything back there," Hiccup eventually spoke quietly, ashamed. "I should have stood up for you."
"Why would you do that?"
"Why wouldn't I?" he looked at him. "You already gave me several reasons to trust you. Or at least believe that you're trying to change."
Dagur listened as Hiccup checked the other cloth for blood before ensuring that Dagur held it to his nose properly.
"You saved mine and Toothless' life. You had a chance to give us to the hunters, but you didn't. And now you seem to genuinely care for Heather."
"I do…"
Hiccup smiled at that a little before soaking the cloth in the cold water again.
"I should have expected Heather to be mad at me. And that she won't believe me. I mean, I wouldn't trust myself either if I were her or the riders. After the war that I've started, after all the lives I've ruined, the people I've killed, the terrible things I've done… especially to her. And especially to you." he trailed off with a sigh. "I'm still surprised that you even listen to anything I have to say.”
Hiccup listened and felt sorry for the berserker. This didn't sound like Dagur was pitying himself or playing tricks, and Hiccup could swear that there was genuine regret in those words.
"I just… I feel different about you," the Hiccup spoke softly.
Dagur's eyes widened at that confession and he felt heat in his face, whether that was from his injury or from what Hiccup just said.
"How, different?"
The dragon rider shrugged, now feeling a bit awkward. "I don't really know. I can't really put my finger on it or explain it. It's just… I don't feel like you're a threat anymore, I guess." There was another short silence between them and Hiccup felt the tension rising. He had to break it. "Heather kind of scared me back there and I was afraid to say anything."
Dagur nodded. "That's fair."
"I really should have stood up for you though. Maybe even the other riders would have said something, I don't know."
Dagur wanted to tell Hiccup it was okay, but he also felt like Hiccup should have spoken up. It was too late now, so it didn't matter.
Hiccup pulled away the cold cloth and gently felt at Dagur's nose. "How does it feel now?"
Dagur sighed. "Your hand…"
Hiccup looked confused. That wasn't the answer to his question. "What about it?"
"It's cold."
Dagur gently took Hiccup by the wrist and guided his hand to be pressed against Dagur's warm cheek.
"Oh, that feels amazing…" Dagur spoke under his breath and closed his eyes as he took Hiccup's other hand and pressed it to his other cheek. His face started to cool down and it felt amazing.
Hiccup's hands felt amazing.
They were small compared to Dagur's big hands, his palms were so soft but his fingertips rough from working. And they were so gentle.
Hiccup froze, he was barely breathing as he couldn’t take his eyes off Dagur. That man suddenly looked so innocent, so caring, and he was so careful about holding his wrists. Hiccup felt like the redhead was admiring his hands, loving the touch, and it made Hiccup feel warmth on his chest, his heart pounding, especially when Dagur rubbed his thumbs over Hiccup's knuckles. He has never been this intimate with Dagur, and he kind of liked it, which he didn't want to admit, but it also made him incredibly nervous.
"Thank you, Hiccup…" the Berserker whispered, still holding him by the hands. "For everything."
"Dagur, this is the least I can do-" Hiccup almost gasped when Dagur brought one of his hands to his lips and softly kissed the palm of it. Hiccup felt a shiver go down his spine, cheeks turning a shade of red.
When Dagur let go, Hiccup hesitantly brought his hands back, eyes locked on the others. The tension between the two was thick now, so thick that neither of them spoke. Did Dagur really just kiss Hiccup's palm? How was he supposed to interpret that? Was Dagur high from the punch he received earlier, or did he really mean this? Friends don't kiss each other's palms like this and neither do brothers! Could they even be considered friends?
Then a small stream of blood ran down from Dagur's nose to his lips.
"Oh no, i-it's still going," Hiccup stuttered, took the fabric, and quickly pressed it to Dagur's nose again. Dagur chuckled in amusement before he took the tissue in his own hand. Their fingers brushed. Hiccup had no idea how to feel about any of this.
"So… Will you tell me about it? The mission?" Dagur suddenly changed topics, nodding his head towards the table.
“What? Oh, the mission,” Hiccup was visibly still nervous as he rubbed the back of his neck. He stepped back to let Dagur look at the plans closely. "Sure."
It was as if he still felt Dagur's lips against his palm...