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"God, you're so stupid! You could have gotten us all killed!" Hiccup yells over his shoulder, running through the forest, hitting branches aside. An entire dragon hunters base worth of people was after them.
A raid had gone wrong.Hiccup had finally gotten Stoick to agree to fight them on their home turf, to push back against the rising threat, and this is how it ended up. With their dragons captured, troops separated, and no clue where they were.
"Me? That was all my dad's idea! Forgive me for being loyal to my family, Hiccup." Snotlout retorts, pushing through branches. One of his closest friends and teammates, and also the third most idiotic person Hiccup knew. They reach a small clearing, stopping to catch their breath. Hiccup leans against a tree and his companion stands a few feet away, clearly annoyed with him.
"Oh, oh is loyalty what you're worried about? What are you going to do when being loyal ends you both? Be loyal to a headstone?" Hiccup snaps, throwing his arms in the air. Snotlout's face contorts in exasperation, his own hands on his hips.
"What is wrong with you today?! Everything was fine! We are fine!"
"We are NOT fine! You almost DIED!" Hiccup yells back, far closer to a cry than he would have liked. The emotion in his eyes almost made Snotlout back off. Hiccup had been on edge for awhile. But this…. Was out of character for him.
"I- you really scared me out there today, Snotlout! I really thought- ya know- normally we have the whole team and a plan before we go headfirst into stupid situations like that. But we had no backup. No second chance, nothing. Backs against the wall. Everything went wrong." He speaks more calmly, trying to reign in his breathing. He pushes his hair back, swallowing the rising stress down and looking at the ground.
"And I wasn't. I don't know, I wasn't sure we were going to make it out alive." He says, now a normal speaking volume. Now that they were stopped, it was easier to communicate. Not that it helped anything to try and communicate with Snotlout. The next words out of his mouth proved to hiccup again that he just did not process anything he said.
"And.... what, you're taking that out on me? Look, I was scared too out there. Do you think it's fun to follow my dad around like that? If we could have left sooner, we would have, but you and your dad just had to make everything more difficult.” Snotlout argues back. Acting like it was all Hiccup's fault. It was always Hiccup's fault, wasn't it?
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me. " Hiccup groans, dragging a hand down his face.
"Im not!"
"Snotlout, without us, you two would have certainly died. Your dad charged the field early, and you went after him.” He reminds him, almost cringing at the memory of ‘Spitelout Spitelout OI OI OI’ still ringing in his ears.
"We could have handled it!” Snotlout defends, almost offended at the implication he had gone against the plan..
"You- you- god, can you get any more muttonbrained?”
"Excuse me?! "
"Just go regroup with the others, I don't want to talk about this anymore." Hiccup demands, trying to shut down the conversation before it led anywhere further. He did not have the energy to deal with Snotlout's nonsense right now. They had to get to the beach, that's where their dragons were being held.
"No, I'm not going anywhere!” He insists, getting in Hiccup's face. He pushes against Hiccup's chest, pulling the focus back to him.
“Explain to me exactly how you were such a big help. What did you do other than mess everything up? We went in dragons blasting, and you played around in the sky, shooting at nothing." Snotlout demands, getting in Hiccup's face. Way too close.
Hiccup, as calmly as he can, states again,
"I was dodging arrows, Snotlout. I said go regroup with the others."
"And I said I'm not going anywhere."
Hiccup takes a deep breath, filling his lungs completely. The feeling is enough to stop him from ripping into his teammate. As he was about to tell Snotlout again to back off, a branch cracks somewhere behind them.
Quickly Hiccup grabs him by the arm and drags him into hiding behind the treeline. Snotlout almost protests, but hiccup presses his body to him to keep him still against the tree, and a hand to his mouth to keep him from uttering anything else stupid.
If they weren't in a life or death situation, Hiccup may have enjoyed being so close to Snotlout. His chest usually burned when they were this close and alone, heart racing. That idiot brought out things in him no one else really could.
But his heart wasn't racing for pleasant reasons now. A hunter runs by, stopping a few feet away in the middle of the clearing. Thankfully these trees were big enough to hide them both. Snotlout shifts, trying to see what had happened, cracking a stick under his foot.
The hunter looks around, eyes narrowed.
“Who goes there?” They shout into the trees.
Panic shoots up Hiccup's spine. He lets go, backing up as if to run.
Before he gets a chance, Snotlout's hand is on his arm, pulling him back.
The hunter stands still, like a deer, listening for any sign of life. A terrifying moment of silence passes, and the hunter shrugs, running another direction. Hiccup gets out of Snotlout's arms and with heavy breathing, he turns around.
"What was that for?" He whispers in demand, face red.
"He totally would have seen you! A thank you would be nice for saving your life." Snotlout pouts, arms crossed. Hiccup blanks, standing up straight, glaring at him.
"You have the gall to be asking for thank yous after getting us into this situation?”
"Of course I do! And it wasn't my fault my dads a little jumpy. I just adapted to the situation.Do you even know me?" Snotlout insisted, beginning to walk the direction the hunter had just taken.
"God I know you way too well, snotlout. I wish I could know you a little less." Hiccup nearly growls, following after. Snotlout furrows his brow, taken aback at the sudden animosity.
Snotlout stops in his tracks, turning to hiccup.
"What's that supposed to mean?”
"Dont- dont worry about it." Hiccup groans, immediately regretting his response.
"No, Really, what was that supposed to mean hiccup? Do you not like me or something?" Snotlout's voice raises. Hiccup shushes him, continuing to walk. They were close to the beach now, he could smell the salt in the air.
"God Snotlout, it didn't mean anything! Just drop it, please." He whisper yelled
"No, I want to know why you said that." Snotlout demands again, walking but definitely not listening. He spoke just as loudly as he always did. Hiccup spots the cages through the trees and starts running. Snotlout must have spotted them too because he's hot on Hiccups trail.
Hunters start surrounding them, emerging from the trees, arrows loaded onto their bows.
"Why is one of my best friends, the noble and patient hiccup, trying to bite my head off right now?" Snotlout demands.
“You've been a real pain in my butt lately ya know that?!”
"Maybe because you almost got us killed? Maybe because you don't ever listen to me or the plan? It's none of your business Snotlout! Just move" Hiccup shouts. Arrows fly at them and they dodge, barely.
Reaching the cages, the pair let out their dragons, hopping on and taking flight. The arrows rain relentlessly on them, forcing them higher in the sky.
“We can talk later! For now, we need to find the others.” Hiccup insists.
"Fine! But I'm holding you to that!" Snotlout yells, pointing Hookfangs horns in the right direction. They take off, back to where the battle still raged on.
Thankfully, they manage to escape all in one piece. The flight back was less than peaceful, but Hiccup would take strained silence over talking. They land, and Astrid is the first to approach. She welcomes him with a hug, pulling away to cross her arms with a soft smile.
Snotlout practically leaps off of hookfang, stomping past the pair to put his dragon up.
"Ill be at your hut tonight, hiccup! You better be ready to explain yourself." Snotlout shouts when he's done, storming off of the landing platform.
Hiccup sighs, his shoulders sagging.
"Okay, what was that about?" Astrid asks, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh, it's a long story. We got caught on patrol and I might have let something... slip." Hiccup summarizes, the heat of shame flaring in his chest.
"Holy crap. Did you tell him?" Astrid's eyes open wide.
"What? No, no, nothing like that. I just- i said I knew him too well and it freaked him out or something I guess." Hiccup stops her, waving his hands as he talked.
"Oh. Well, that's weird. How did you say it?" She questions further, again curious.
"Kind of rude? And targeted?" Hiccup admits.
"That explains it. Hiccup, come on. Are you going to tell him? I know it's been driving you up the wall lately, it might be better to just get it over with. You're starting to act out.”
Astrid tells him. Astrid was the only person in the archipelago and beyond who knew exactly why he had been so stressed lately, outside of planning the attack. He trusted her more than anyone. So with a heavy heart, he relentlessly.
"I know, I know. I should. I will. I just don't know how. He gets on every single one of my last nerves, it's so hard to even talk to him sometimes."
" Believe me, we all know that feeling. But we also know snotlout. And under all that yelling and ego is... one of our friends. I'm sure if you just talk to him we can get this all settled out." She assures him, placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder.
"Gods, I hope you're right.” He places his hand over hers, and with that the pair leave the landing platform, toothless not far behind.
Later at Hiccup's hut, Hiccup paced across the wooden floor. The creaks taunt him as he steps, his oddly uneven footsteps making him unsteady.
He hears a knock at the door and stops. Biting his lip, he turns, taking just one more previous moment of silence in before calling out to whoever was outside. Just as he promised, in comes Snotlout, not even looking at Hiccup. He sits himself on Hiccup's bed, arms crossed.
"Hey, Snotlout." Hiccup greets nervously, turning to face him.
"Yeah, hey, whatever. Why were you so riled up at the island? Other than the almost dying stuff. " Right to the point. Hiccups insides feel like change wing acid.
"I uhm.... well. To be honest, it's because of you. " hiccup admits, motioning vaguely to Snotlout.
"Me? Did i- do something?"
"Not- necessarily- other than the rushing into battle thing.” Hiccup says. He raises a hand before Snotlout can defend himself again.
“Which I know wasn't your idea. It's kind of just- your entire existence has been.... bothering me. Lately. Ugh, that did not sound right- look- I care about you. Alot. "
Hiccup sits next to him, about a foot away. He could reach out and touch him if he wanted.
"And it really freaks me out to see you in danger. More so than most of the others, sometimes."
"Okay...? " Snotlout replies hesitantly, uncrossing his arms.
"And…. I might have been taking out some of my stress on you because... you've been on my mind a lot lately."
Snotlout makes a strange face, looking hiccup up and down. He did not quite understand what hiccup was trying to get at, but it was a little too raw for his liking.
"Yeah, that’s. It's weird for me too. " Hiccup sighs.
“I didn't mean to snap at you like that. Really.”
Hiccup looks away, biting his lip. Snotlout's eyes flick down to the motion and his nose scrunches up.
"Hey, stop that. " snotlout says, flicking Hiccup's arm.
"What?"
"Biting your lip. You do that when you're really anxious and it's freaking me out. "
"Oh- "
Hiccup wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and looks at the floor, heart pounding. Snotlout thinks for a moment and puts a hand on hiccups shoulder, shaking him a little. And smiling.
"Hah, it's okay, hiccup. I get it, I'm awesome. I think about me all the time too. Just don't go around telling other people you think of them all the time or they'll think you have a crush on them or something.” He tries to lighten the mood, laughing.
Hiccup goes very quiet, opening and closing his mouth a few times before looking back at the floor. He hums agreement, his voice suddenly leaving him.
Snotlout's smile fades quickly when he sees it's not returned.
"Wait. You're not saying anything. What's wrong? Look, it was just a joke, You dont- have feelings for me like that- do you? I mean im okay with those kinds of people, i just-"
"Snotlout, stop talking." Hiccup sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. As usual, he hit the nail on the head. By complete accident and very loudly, but he hit it.
"Do you have a crush on me? Me? Snotlout Jorgenson? Hiccup Haddock, son of the chief of Berk, has a crush on a jorgenson?"
"Will you please not make a big production about this please? I'm trying to have an earnest conversation with you and it- it never goes well." Hiccup requests, not even bothering to deny or correct. Somehow, Snotlout had gotten to the bottom of the issue before Hiccup had a chance to talk himself out of confessing.
"No I get that, I just- I never thought-" Snotlout stops himself and puts his hands on his head, getting up. He paced the room once. Then he dragged his hands down his face. This was… a lot to take in. Hiccup was honestly expecting a worse reaction.
"I know its weird, and its not normal, and you would probably much prefer if it was Astrid or Heather or someone else saying this to you-"
Snotlout snorts, completely interrupting hiccups little speech. He covers his mouth before speaking.
"God, no. I don't even like them like that."
"You don't?!"
"No! I just like to rile them up! I'm the jackass of the group, it's my job to make everyone else mad at me! It's a good outlet!" He spreads his arms wide, bringing them back to his side, sticking his hands under his arms.
"I- wow. Okay. Noted."
"Look, Hiccup, this is really sweet and all, but I haven't even... considered this as a possibility before. Can we- can we talk about this later?" Snotlout stutters out, His face drained of color.
That was a pretty sound no, but Hiccup just nodded.
"Yeah, yeah sure. Take your time. I'll be here."
"Okay, okay. Thanks. Ill uh, see you around, hiccup." He leaves, and at the door he stops as if to say something. Hiccup waits, but Snotlout seems to think better of it, and steps out, door shut behind him.
That went…. Better. Somehow. Than Hiccup thought it would. But it didn't change the outcome he knew was inevitable.
Heart crushed under its own weight, he drags himself to his desk. He couldn't afford to grieve. He wouldn't allow this to stop him from being a good leader. He had to press on, push this down, and focus.
Vigo was out there. And he needed to be ready.
The next day at breakfast, everyone's gathered around the fire, Heather passing out eggs and boar bacon. Astrid is eyeing Snotlout as he arrives. He seems sluggish, eyes turned down. He even thanks Heather before he sits down, quietly picking at the eggs. Heather glances at Astrid, both wearing a perplexed look.
Astris turns to the group, clearing her throat.
"Has anyone seen Hiccup this morning?"
"You know what, now that you mention it, no, I haven't." Fishlegs thinks, frowning.
"Do you want to send someone to check on him? He probably didn't sleep well after yesterday, poor thing.”
"Good idea. Ill go-"
"No! I'll do it." Snotlout volunteers, interrupting Astrid. Everyone wears a perplexed look now, raised eyebrows on every face.
"What? Hiccups my friend, I worry about him too. Plus his hut is close to mine, I needed to grab something from home anyway."
"Thats- not even true, Snotlout what are you-" Astrid tries to speak but is shushed by Snotlout getting up as quickly as he sat down.
"Shshshsh, delicate Astrid, all is well. Just enjoy your breakfast. Hookfang!" He calls, stepping out and mounting the dragon.
"Ill be right back with Hiccup, you'll see."
Hookfang flies off, leaving silence around the fire.
"Thats weird. He normally doesn't volunteer for things." Fishlegs mumbles.
"Maybe he's finally maturing." Astrid jokes, picking her food back up.
"As if. Snotlout and the twins are forever stuck in their ways." Fishlegs laughs, returning to his own plate as well.
"Hey! We are very mature!" Tuffnut exclaims, waving a piece of bacon at fishlegs.
"Yeah! We're legal age! You don't know that kind of stuff we get up to!" Ruffnut adds, face full of eggs.
"Not that kind of mature, you two." Heather rolls her eyes, sitting down beside Astrid. They share a look again, and Astrid shrugs.
Back at Hiccup's hut, Hiccup's eyes were nearly melting out of his head. Pages and pages of notes, maps, checklists and more surround him. He flinches when sunlight shines in through the window, reminding him of the time. The others must be at breakfast by now.
He pushes himself up, determined to keep the normal routine….
And suddenly, the ground was much closer than he thought it was.
Just as the door crashed open, Hiccup crashed to the ground.
"Hiccup? I'm here to get you for breakfast, everyone's waiti- hiccup?" He comes over, kneeling down. He grabs Hiccup's arm and helps him back to a standing position, letting him go only after Hiccup swats at him a few times.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I just stayed up late working on my inventions." He grumbled.
Snotlout looks around at the mess and frowns.
"Stayed up late, more like never went to bed." He pushes Hiccup by the shoulder, who, still unsteady, falls onto the bed behind him.
"Your bed is still made from yesterday!"
"You- what? How would you know that?"
"Uh, because it looks the exact same? You're wearing the same exact thing you wore yesterday, Toothless is still asleep, and you've got food and water next to your desk, which only happens when you pull all nighters!" Snotlout explains, counting each piece of evidence on a finger before pointing at hiccup, who drops his head, shaking it side to side.
"See- this- this is what I meant.” Hiccup groans, sitting himself up.
“I know you're only here because Astrid noticed I was gone, and you know way too much about how I sleep. We know each other way too well.”
Snotlout's face burns hot with embarrassment.
"Forgive me oh ill rested one for being observant and caring about my best friend!"
"Best- best friend?" Hiccup asks, a little confused. He raises his head to look at Snotlout.
"I thought the twins were your best friends?"
Snotlout groans.
"No, they're not my best friends. It's you, it's always been you. We've known each other since we were kids." He reminds him.
"I mean yeah, but we all have. You guys get into more hijinks together than the rest of us combined."
"I mean, yeah I guess, but hijinks only get you so far. And the twins like to abandon me at the last minute so you always think it was my fault." He huffs. Hiccup had to admit, Snotlout was right. The twins had a bad habit of blaming anyone but themselves for the trouble they cause.
"Youre my number one.” He continues, pointing at Hiccup as if he was proving some.kind of point.
“You always have my back, you support my ideas, you're smart and even a little funny sometimes." He says, crossing his arms and looking away.
Hiccup's heart hurts, beating too hard in his chest.
"That's... thank you. That means a lot to me snotlout."
Right, hiccup had almost forgotten the conversation they had last night. And he would have continued to forget had it not been for the way Snotlout slowly turned to look at him with wide eyes.
"No, i- not like that, you're one of my best friends too, im sorry-" Hiccup stammers, raising his hands in defense.
"Yeah, yeah. Sure.” Snotlout quickly agrees, turning away. He practically jogged to the door, not waiting for Hiccup when he shouted back,
“Let's just get you to breakfast, huh? Come on!"
For the next week, it was just like that. Snotlout avoided Hiccup, or searched him out just to pretend like nothing happened. It was so back and forth, it disrupted all their usual duties. Astrid noticed first, then Fishlegs started getting uncomfortable when the three of them were in a room together. Even the twins picked up on something. They began spreading rumors that a fight had broken out between them and they weren't on speaking terms anymore.
Eventually the team got sick of it, and Astrid was called to step in. She started with the root of the problem, following Snotlout into the woods one day after a team meeting.
"Snotlout? Hey, Hiccup needs you." Astrid calls to the woods, Stormy not far behind her. Stormfly sees hookfang and walks over, chirping a hello.
"Can’t right now, tell him I'm busy." Snotlout calls back from a few feet away. He's got an axe in hand, and he's raised it above his head. Further out were logs painted with circles, red and blue. Astrid comes over, standing beside him with her arms crossed and her weight on one side.
"Uh huh.” She hums sarcastically.
“It seems like you've been 'busy' all week. Come out with it, why don't you just talk to him?"
Snotlout rolls his eyes and drops his arms, lowering the axe.
"Because Astrid, I'm tired. Can't you see I’m training? All day? Every day? I need to get better." He fires back, agitated.
Astrid frowns. She approaches, taking the axe from his hand. He lets her, sighing heavily.
“What happened at the hunter camp was a disgrace. We cannot let that happen again.”
"You know, I was shocked too when I figured it out." Astrid tells him.
"Figured what out?"
"That hiccup likes you." She says plainly, throwing her axe. It nails the target perfectly.
Snotlout stutters, flustering, hands balling up into fists.
“Thats not even-!”
"Its been really bothering him lately, actually.” As he continues, completely ignoring his words.
“After you almost died at singetail island, it was all he could talk about. Snotlout this, Snotlout that. Trying to figure out how he can convince you to stay back from missions more."
"He... he talks about me?" Snotlout asks in surprise, clenching and unclenching his hands. Astrid raises the axe in perfect form, facing the targets.
"To you?!"
"On occasion." Astrid remarks sarcastically.
"He cares about you. And- whether you like him back or not- he is still your friend. We have all noticed you acting weird around him." She throws the axe, landing perfectly in the middle.
"Im not-” Astrid glares at him. He closes his mouth, taking the time it takes for Astrid to go get the axe and come back to rethink his words.
"Im not trying to act weird. I just *feel* weird around him now. Like- I want to be around him more, but I'm afraid he's going to take that the wrong way."
"And what is the wrong way, exactly?" Astrid prompts, getting ready to throw her axe again.
"I don't know, romantically? Like it's a sign I like him back?"
"Do you?" Astrid asks.
"Maybe- no- I don't know! I've never thought about it before!" Snotlout yells, clutching his helmet, throwing his hands in the air.
"Really? I find that hard to believe." Astrid teases, lowering the axe.
"Huh? Why? I'm not like that.” He says defensively, his face bright red.
"Oh I don't know, maybe the fact you've never had a girlfriend? The fact that when girls approach you, you turn them down with some nonsense about being too busy with being a dragon rider? The way you tease Hiccup just like me and Heather?"
"You know I don't like you though!" Snotlout groans. "You know just as well as I do that that will never go anywhere."
"Yeah, I do.” She shrugs, annoying Snotlout more with just the action. “But I also know you're hiding some things about yourself."
"Please, I don't hide anything. I'm a Jorgenson. We have no secrets.” He brags, a little smile returning as he defaults to one of his favorite excuses.
"You like it a little too much sometimes when you get pinned down." Astrid grins.
"I don't mind, I don't care either. But I noticed." Astrid giggles, throwing her axe. Again, it squarely hits her target. Snotlout, a bright tomato red, is silent for once. He glances over at the axe as she calmly walks to go get it again.
Astrid is so sure in what she is, who she is and what she wants. Snotlout… is envious of that. Of that confidence in what she's doing.
She returns, handing him his axe.
"We all have secrets we keep from ourselves. Just give it some time and think about it. Hiccup will understand either way, but hiding away from him and ignoring him is just making everyone upset." She tells him gently.
Snotlout takes the axe, looking at her and then at the target.
"What.... what if I did like him?” He mutters.
“Just. Hypothetically. What if I was scared, and confused, and I didn't know what to do?”
Astrid listens. She smiles softly, then steps behind him and guides his arm to the axe throwing position.
"You're Snotlout Jorgensen. Even if you were scared, you would go in, dragon blazing, not caring what anyone else thinks. Because no matter what choice you make, we will all be right behind you." She assures, stepping back.
Snotlout looks back at her and releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. He lets the axe fly. It hits the target square in the middle. His eyes light up, and he turns to her, head held high.
"....Thanks, astrid."
"Anytime snotface. Now go see hiccup, he's trying to pull another all nighter and sneaking away food." She whistles, and stormfly rises, stomping over in delight.
Snotlout groans, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"That little- okay, okay, I'm going. I don't know what you all would do without me.”
He hops on hookfang, flying back to the dragon's edge. A plan forms in his mind.
With the confidence of someone far taller, he lands next to Hiccup's hut and knocks before just coming in anyway.
"Hiccup Haddock! I need to talk to you!" Snotlout demands, door flying open. The force scatters a few papers.
"Not right now, slSnotlout. I'm in the middle of something." Hiccup grumbles, hunched over his desk. Somehow, the mess had gotten worse than last time they had spoke. Astrid was right, there were several meals stashed away on top of his table. Not that Hiccup felt like eating anyway.
"Yeah, you're about to be in the middle of this conversation! Stop sulking and face me!" Snotlout stomps in, slamming the door behind him.
"God's, what is so important?" He turns around, narrowly avoiding a knife flying past his face, sinking into the wall. Snotlout stands there, arm outstretched, smiling smugly.
"What the-? Are you trying to kill me?!"
"Yes! I'm trying to fight you! Come at me!" Snotlout shouts, assuming a fighting stance. Stomping all over Hiccup's precious maps.
"Why? You remember what happened last time, right?" Hiccup stands, pointing to Snotlout. A total of two teeth had been knocked out, and Snotlout was out of commission for three days while getting them replaced.
"Yes! I do! You didn't fight back!" Snotlout sneers.
"Like the coward you are! Now come and fight me!"
Hiccup just crosses his arms. He did not have the energy for all of… whatever this was. First he's rejected, then ignored, and now he's doing…. Whatever this was.
"Snotlout-"
"I mean it!" Snotlout growls, his lip twitching. Hiccups head tilts, eyes narrowing. Snotlout looked…. Serious. No hint of a smile. Hiccup changed his demeanor, silently assuming a fighting stance.
"Okay, but for the record, this is really dumb."
Snotlout comes at him yelling. Hiccup dodges, blocks the first hit at him when Snotlout rears back for another swing. He blocks another and another, being pushed back step by step. Finally an opening appears and his fist shoots out- Snotlout grabs his arm and twists. It burns, hot and painful. This was something that almost always won the fight when they were kids. Fighting over toys, or rules, or whatever other dumb thing they cared about.
They're grown now. And hiccup knows better. He pushes against Snotlout, yelling, sending him into the wall. He grabs Snotlout's hands as they raise to push him off, pinning him there, arms above his head.
And just like that, all movement temporarily stops. They're both breathing hard. Hiccup searches Snotlout's eyes for some kind of answer to all this.
Snotlout searches his, knowing his answer. Hiccup's eyes, green as grass, flecks of gold hidden throughout.
Snotlout's eyes, blue, like a raging sea.
Snotlout's gaze flickers down to Hiccups lip. The lip hiccup always bit when he was nervous.
Hiccup noticed, loosening his grip unintentionally. Snotlout took the opportunity, pushing back suddenly, throwing hiccup off. It was his turn now to push hiccup against a wall, throwing his weight around like it was nothing. But hiccup wasn't about to have that. He grabbed under Snotlout's arms and heaved Snotlout up, and with all his strength, threw him.
It was a miracle he landed somewhere relatively soft. The bed. If it was made before, it certainly wasn't now. Snotlout almost got back up before hiccup pinned him down again, a surge of adrenaline coursing through him. How dare he just barge in like this? Demand a fight for no good reason? What did he want?
Hiccup was on top of Snotlout now, straddling one knee, holding Snotlout's arms down.
"Why are you trying to fight me?" He demanded, sick and tired of Snotlout's antics.
"Figure it out for yourself! Since you're soooo much smarter than everyone else!" Snotlout fires back, struggling against him.
"Why I oughta-!" He rears a fist back to punch him when Snotlout raises his knee, forcing hiccup to slide down and fall, landing on top of him with an ‘oomf’. Foreheads collided, noses touched, and lips grazed each other in the collision.
Hiccup was up before he could process what happened, face going bright red as he realized what this all looked like and where he was. Snotlout's face, Hiccup just realized as well, was just as red as his felt. He noticed
Snotlout looking him over, up and down, with a kind of... want? That he had never seen before.
He recognized it. Had felt it, of course, but he had never seen it on Snotlout before. Snotlout, who makes no comment, and no more effort to push Hiccup off. The silence grows longer than was comfortable.
Hiccup leans forward again, curiously this time. Snotlout doesn't move or fight back, but his breathing hitches when they were face to face again. Inches apart, Hiccup leans in as far as he can before they're touching noses.
"What is this for?" He asks quietly. “Is this…. Okay?”
Snotlout's eyes trace Hiccup's face. He nods, bringing a hand up to thread his fingers into Hiccup's short brown hair.
Hiccup takes it as a sign and leans in closer, closing his eyes. Maybe he was reading this all wrong. Maybe he was about to get the living daylights beat out of him. Maybe this was the end to a lifelong friendship.
Snotlout hadn't had any practice at this, he discovered, unlike hiccup, who had dated a few times since they became dragon riders.
It was warm, kind of gentle and soft, like they're afraid to break each other. But there's a further pressure there too, almost like a need.
Hiccup pulls back and breathes heavily a few times. Snotlout looks up at him, eyes wide, mouth agape.
"Well?" Hiccup asks, his voice almost cracking.
"...Do that again." Snotlout says quietly, and Hiccup hesitantly leans back down. Snotlout pulls him in closer by his hair, reciprocating softly at first. It was a mess of hot air and mouths, but it lit a fire in Snotlout's veins.
When they pull away again it's for a much shorter time, just readjusting before kissing continues. The longer it goes on, the more they both relax. Hiccup puts some of his weight on Snotlout, and Snotlout's other hand finds Hiccup's waist, steadying him.
Hiccup doesn't stop him as the hand wanders downwards, under his tunic and up his back, feeling the bare skin. Hiccup shivers and moans, pressing harder into the kiss. Snotlout continues his small touches, up Hiccups chest, down his thighs. Neither of them notice when Hiccup's hand start trailing under Snotlout's tunic, but they both notice when hands reach for belts and they pause. Hiccup sits up, much to Snotlout's disappointment.
"I- uhm- are you- is this-" hiccup stutters, looking anywhere but at Snotlout directly. He felt so bare and exposed like this.
Snotlout swallows and sits up, sadly forcing Hiccup off of his lap.
"Hiccup, I... I did some thinking." He starts, glancing at his friend before looking down at his hands.
"I... I've always admired you. For how smart, resourceful, strong you are. When you and Astrid started dating, I was a major dick to you. And- Inever really connected any of those feelings together."
"Yeah?" Hiccup asks, letting snotlout know he was listening. He settles on his knees, waiting for him to go on. Snotlout nods.
"I think I was jealous. And - and I never really- I mean, I only really started thinking anything like this was a possibility when silent sven got married. It wasn't real to me."
He fiddles with his hands a little, parsing through the growing ball of anxiety in his chest that had moments ago been something very different.
"I never thought someone so important would like someone like me. Be friends with me. And I’m not so sure I'm 100% about this- but- I want to try." He says, gaining the courage to look up at Hiccup, who was watching him with those thoughtful eyes.
"I want to be an us, Hiccup Haddock. If you want that, that is. You're the strongest, most fearless person I know."
Hiccup bit his lip, still tasting Snotlout on it. He sighs, trying to fight through the haze in his mind.
"I... I don't even know what to say. I- how can we explain it to anyone else?" Hiccup replies.
"We don't have to. Not right now, at least." Snotlout assures.
Hiccup looks over at him. Over and over again throughout his life, Snotlout has terrorized him. Bullied him. Been cruel and strange. But he's also been his biggest supporter, his best friend, a teammate, always there to have his back.
Why did Hiccup Haddock fall for Snotlout Jorgensen? It was hard to tell from the outside.
But Hiccup knew Snotlout's heart. And that heart was beautiful, despite the rough exterior.
"Okay." Hiccup replies, taking Snotlout's hand.
"We can be... us." He says, a little smile growing on his face.
Snotlout smiles back, scooting a little closer.
"Snotlout and hiccup!"
"Why does your name come first?" Hiccup laughs.
"Because my name is cooler, duh." Snotlout grins before taking hiccups hand and kissing his knuckles. Hiccup goes a deeper shade of red in the face than before.
Snotlout took that as a challenge. This was entirely new territory for him, unexplored frontiers! He had never gotten to tease someone for liking him and get a proper response.
"Aw, did you like that?" Snotlout's stupid grin grows.
Hiccup rolls his eyes, trying to stop himself from smiling. Snotlout kisses up hiccups arm, stopping at the shoulder as hiccup giggled and pushed against him. It turned into kissing hiccups cheek and hiccup falling back on the bed. Snotlout’s turn to be on top.
"What, are you flustered?"
"Snotlout come on!" Hiccup laughed, pushing against him playfully.
"We just started dating like two seconds ago!"
"I know! That means I get to do this!" He kisses hiccup, who returns the kiss softly.
They part and press their foreheads together, just enjoying the warmth of the other.
Until a knock at the door startled them both.
"Yeah guys! I'll just peek in and check on him-" Astrid yells as the door opens and the pair rush to separate. Hiccup sits on the bed and Snotlout rushes to the desk, grabbing his knife from the wall.
Astrid peeks her head in. Hiccup's hair was a mess, and Snotlout's helmet was askew. Both of their tunics were a little lopsided on their bodies.
"Oh, hey Astrid! We were just talking about you." Snotlout waves, acting nonchalant.
"Uh huh. Sure you were.” She smiles.
“ Have fun, lovebirds." She says before leaning back and closing the door,
"Hiccups asleep! We better leave him alone, he's had a rough week!"
Her footsteps recede and the two let out a sigh of relief.
"That was close." They both say before grinning and giggling like the pair of idiots they were.
"Well.... unless we want them to be suspicious, I should probably go back to my hut." Snotlout sighs once the laughter subsides.
"Yeah, probably." Hiccup agrees before laying down, looking over at Snotlout with the candlelight flickering in his eyes.
"Thank you. For- this. All of this."
Snotlout's heart nearly summersaulted out of his chest and onto the floor as he stammered out a reply.
"Y-yeah, yeah. Thank you for uhm, being patient I guess. I just needed a minute to think, ya know?"
"Yeah, I know." Hiccup replies, propping himself up on his elbow. Had his sleeping tunic always been that revealing??
Snotlout stared a second too long before regaining his ability to speak.
"I- I'll see you in the morning. Goodnight, hiccup."
He approached, hiccup sitting up.
"If you have to. Goodnight, snotlout." He replies. He takes Snotlout's hand in his and they smile at each other before Snotlout pulls away slowly, heading to the door.
He says bye again, softly, before leaving hiccup alone. Hiccup can feel his heart leaving with snotlout, pulling all of the horrible, wonderful, twisted emotions out of him.
He sighs and flops on the bed. He blows out his candle, rolling over. It was going to be hard to sleep tonight, that's for sure.
Snotlout raced for hookfang and flew up into the air. Once a safe distance away, he hollered into the cold night air.
"WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!"
A ride around the dragon's edge and he landed back at his own hut, giddy with excitement.
"Guess what hookfang? Snotlout's not alone anymore! That's right! I bagged the one and only chief's son of Berk!" He cheers as he enters his hut, hookfang not far behind.
"Oh, did you now?" Astrid replies, hiding behind the door. Snotlout yelps and falls over, knocking over a few weapons that had been carelessly displayed nearby.
"Uh- I- Hi Astrid! What are you doing here-?" He asks with a worried smile.
"Oh nothing. Just making sure you two actually talked." Astrid remarks, helping Snotlout up.
"I'm sure I don't need to tell you, but if you hurt him..."
"Yeah yeah, I know. Trust me, I know." Snotlout cuts her off.
"If anything ever happened to him, I would throw myself off a cliff sooner than you could push me."
"I'm glad we have an understanding. And hey, the same goes for you Snotlout." Astrid assures, letting go of him and punching his shoulder playfully.
"Really?" Snotlout asks, a little shocked.
"Of course. You're my friend too. And we'll probably be better friends now that you can't hit on me all the time." She laughs and Snotlout cracks a smile too.
"Hah, oh god, yeah. I'll have to come up with a new routine!"
Astrid rolls her eyes and leaves.
"Goodnight snotface!"
"Goodnight birdbrain!" He returns.
"Birdbrain?" Astrid asks.
"Yeah! Your dragons like a big bird. Eats birds too. Ergo, birdbrain." He smiles smugly.
"Sure." Astrid replies before shutting the door. Hookfang makes himself comfortable on the floor, while Snotlout flops in bed, staring up at the ceiling in glee.
Hiccup liked him. Actually, really liked him!
Oh god, he could never tell their parents about this.