trans_9 | Worlds Apart [closed] [Set before moleplot and aliensplot]

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Worlds Apart [closed] [Set before moleplot and aliensplot]

After training with Zuko (and a shower), Hiccup had just wanted to relax. That meant a trip to Hydroponics, for fake sunshine on his face. At least until he got under the shade of a tree with bright pink leaves, anyway.

It also meant hanging out with his buddy.

There was outright giggling as Toothless nudged his side, rolling him over so that he could squeeze in under the shade, curled around his boy, and then Hiccup lay there against his dragon's side, one foot gleaming in the light, the toes of his other foot wiggling in the grass.

One hand idly reached up and over and scratched the dragon's neck so that his whole body rumbled as he purred.

The teenage Viking looked half-close to drifting off for a nap, but that wouldn't stop him from saying hello to anyone that passed by.

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"Yeah, I'd suggest not doing that." Snotlout snorts. "It'd suck for you not to have actual Vikings talking to you, with all these un-Vikings all over the place."

Hmmm. Maybe this could apply to Vikings other than Hiccup.

Hiccup stroked the purring, sleepy dragon's neck thoughtfully.

"The Un-Vikings aren't so bad."

For one, they seemed to more openly accept him than the Vikings ever did.

"But that brings up an important point. Which is, even if I get un-cool again--even if you ever get un-cool--we shouldn't... it shouldn't be like it was back home."

"Me? Un-cool? Ha! Haha!"

He laughs a liiittle too long at that.

"What are you worried about? Planning to make this -" he gestures to the pink - "a regular color scheme?"

"No. I'm just thinking about--"

His mouth quirks sadly.

"Supposedly the ship saves us and loved ones, right? What if the rest of the tribe wasn't chosen? We could be the only Vikings here."

A pause.

"And if we are, then... then it's--it's not--we should be able to rely on that--clan and tribe. If Berk is gone, it shouldn't be that any Viking here doesn't have that."

Snotlout's silent, thinking about this.

Then, "I don't think we've been going out long enough to go making that kind of a commitment, honey face."

"I'd punch you but I'd only sprain my wrist."

He launched into a rant.

"Why is it that being a Viking means we can't talk about, like, important things without someone having to crack a stupid joke to look tough? Clan and tribe are Viking things--they're very important Viking things. Our home is gone. I'm being serious here." He pointed to his face. "Note serious face."

"Man, why?" Snotlout throws his hands up in the air, and Hiccup can note in turn the irritated face. He's seen it before. "You know, you really bum me out sometimes. I don't get why everything has to be about feelings and oaths and maybe everyone we know is dead with you. Why can't you just go to the Sensoriums and punch something?"

He stands up, brushing himself off, a little unsteadily. This is not his first beer tree beer. "I'm gonna go do that now. You can beat up as many guys as you want in the Sensoriums, and you never get in trouble for it."

"Well one, when have I ever been able to punch anything?"

A pause.

"Two, one thing that's a total bummer is wondering if everyone will bail on you the first time you mess up, when they're the only clan and tribesmen you've got."

His expression was sour.

"But I think I've got my answer: everything's exactly the same as it always was."

It was a little better than it'd once been with his father, but not as good as it could be if he remembered his heroics, and he had fair-weather "friends." It was just that the weather was fair now, instead of foul.

He's maybe missing the part where this conversation is actually fairly alarming to Snotlout. Everyone he knows might be dead, yeah - he just doesn't have the emotional capacity to explore that.

"Look, I just don't wanna talk about it, okay? You have your way of . . . doing stuff, and dealing with stuff, and that's cool or whatever, but I'm not - I don't wanna -"

He waves his hand. "Why are you so stuck on everyone bailing on you? You said it yourself, we're all we've got. Just . . . don't embarrass us. I figure that's pretty standard. What do you even want from me?"

The irony here is that Hiccup has way more friends on the ship than Snotlout does . . . and possibly will have.

"I want--"

I want you to just not bail on me anyway, even if I'm embarrassing, since all I had to do to be embarrassing before was be who I am.

I want friends who just like me, and not just because I saved the village or learned to ride a dragon, not just because of glory.

He wanted them to be his tribe, too. He had new friends now, he had people that cared about him--he had Toothless--but he wanted his tribesmen to be that way. He wanted Ruff and Snotlout to stick by him, he wanted his father's pride to be permanent.

Why was he still so stuck on the acceptance and loyalty of his tribe? Of the people that treated him like an embarrassment most of his life and only changed their opinion after he saved a village, and lost a leg? Why did he keep wanting to prove himself when he'd already done it? (To keep everything, he wanted to keep everything he had now that he had it, he'd wanted it for so long...)

Hiccup's expression went odd, and his voice was quiet as he said, "You know what? I think I don't want anything from you."

Unspoken was: Because I can't expect anything from you.

"Okay, fine."

Snotlout, confused and emotionally taxed by any conversation involving them being the last of their kind, is ready to be out of this conversation.

"'Cause I was thinking about getting you a beer, but then you got all emotional on me."

"Guess I'm going without the beer then."

"Well, you don't have to. Because it's right over there."

Snotlout kind of stands around for a minute. This got real awkward, real fast, and he's still not totally sure why.

"I'm gonna go like . . . train or something now."

Because seriously, warrior training? Has been kicking his ASS.

"Have fun punching things."

"Always do."

Somehow, that 'always do' wasn't as satisfying as usual. But Snotlout plods off anyway.

Hey. Better to beat up some imaginary villains than sit around and mope, just because everyone and everything they know might be dead.

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Worlds Apart [closed] [Set before moleplot and aliensplot]

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