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He fell.
Viggo fell.
Into the raging heart of the volcano, roght infront of Hiccup. His scream echoed off the jagged walls, swallowed by the roar of molten stone. Hiccup reached for him too late. The world cracked apart.
There was no body. No farewell.
Just silence.
Three nights later, Hiccup stood alone beneath the stars, clutching something small and warm from his pocket.
An emerald.
Smooth, deep, impossibly green like his own eyes, Viggo had said.
It had happened quietly.
A just a few days before the volcano.
A storm had passed. The winds were soft. They’d camped alone, far from both their people. No war. No enemies. Just them.
Viggo had looked at him like he held the entire sky in his hands.
“There is a tradition,” he said softly, “among my people. When a man wishes to bind himself he gives a stone that reflects the person he loves. His strength. His soul.”
He held out a small chain. Simple, silver. At the center: a single emerald, vivid and sharp.
“I thought of fire. Of obsidian. But nothing felt right. Then I remembered your eyes.”
Hiccup stared.
“You’re... asking to be—”
“Betrothed,” Viggo said, with a faint smile. “Yes.”
His voice wavered. “I don’t deserve you.”
“You terrify me,” Viggo admitted. “You make me hope for things I never let myself believe in. That’s precisely why I must do this. Before I lose the chance.”
Hiccup took the chain with shaking hands.
Put it around his own neck.
His voice cracked. “Yes. I’m yours. I love you”
They kissed. And the world, for once, was whole.
Now, with Viggo gone, that memory was a dagger and a lifeline.
He wore the chain every day. Tucked beneath his shirt. As if holding on could undo death.
And then he saw him again.
Alive.
On the battlefield.
Surrounded by enemy men.
Viggo’s eye met his and Hiccup saw no recognition. No love.
Only silence.
And something inside Hiccup shattered.
He didn’t remember the moment he attacked.
Didn’t remember dragging Viggo to the ground, rage turning his hands into weapons.
He only remembered the bruises blooming on Viggo’s throat.
And the broken whisper:
“I’ll love you... even if you kill me.”
And then nothing. Viggo went limp in his arms.
Toothless is flying fast toward Berk fore help.
Gothi worked through the night. Hiccup didn’t leave his side.
Viggo's breathing was thin, his face pale against the furs. Eyes sealed shut, his features marred by a thick, angry scar. The emerald chain still hung at Hiccup’s neck, darkened slightly from soot and sweat.
When Viggo finally stirred, it was with a groan.
“I’m not dead,” he rasped.
Hiccup’s breath hitched.
“You almost were.”
Viggo opened his remaining eye. “You came back.”
“I never left.”
Stoick’s voice tore through the quiet:
“What in Odin’s name is he doing here?!”
He stormed into the hut like thunder itself.
“You nearly killed him, and now you cradle him like a lover?!”
Hiccup stood. “He is my lover.”
A silence.
“A what?”
“We’re betrothed,” Hiccup said hoarsely, holding up the emerald chain. “We made the vow before the volcano. I thought he was dead. And then I thought he betrayed me stood with our enemies. I snapped. I didn’t see, I didn’t think. I just”
“You nearly killed him, Hiccup!” Stoick’s voice shook. “And now you expect me to believe this man is your fiancé?”
“I expect you to believe he never betrayed me. I expect you to believe that I know the man I love.”
From the bed, Viggo whispered: “I stood among them to keep him safe. If they knew I was still his... they would’ve executed me before the battle began.”
“You could have said something!” Hiccup cried.
“I tried. You didn’t see it.”
“I saw nothing but betrayal.”
Stoick’s voice was quiet now, dangerous. “I need to think about this but trust me if you hurt my boy I will kill you.”
And then he left.
Viggo reached weakly for his hand.
"Gods I'm afraid of your dad is he always like that"
"Year"
