Chapter Text
Not for the first time, Hiccup wished he'd packed a cloak in Toothless's saddlebag. The snow-laden winds whipped around him, and while he was cold, he was all too aware of the warm presence at his back.
He'd told Viggo to hold on and lean forward to avoid the worst of the wind and make them more aerodynamic, but he was regretting it as every little shift of weight made him aware that his enemy was pressed to him, much too close for comfort.
There wasn't time to regret the situation, though. Viggo had made the first attack by poisoning Toothless, and if Hiccup wanted to save him, what Viggo said went. And that included flying through this snowstorm to gods knew where.
Hiccup squinted through the driving snow and saw a clearing. He pointed, and felt Viggo squeeze his right shoulder: the predetermined signal for 'not there yet.' He glowered at the storm and didn't give Toothless the landing signal, though he longed to. If they flew through this for much longer, they'd come out the other side glazed in ice.
As if in answer to his annoyance, a gust of wind shot perpendicularly to their flight path. Toothless shrieked, his wing tilted suddenly up at an angle that had him swerving down. Hiccup swore, trying desperately to right them. He heard Viggo shout, felt hands clutch convulsively at his shoulders before vanishing. Then Toothless screeched again, they pitched downwards, and Hiccup knew no more.
Fiery pain woke Hiccup. His left knee was throbbing, and when he tried to move, he yelped. Everything was dark, but this was because his eyes were closed. He cracked them open to see a small fire going, and that he was in the shelter provided at the base of a huge tree. Snow weighed down the lower branches until they formed a little circular cave around the trunk, and in that cave were Toothless and Viggo.
"Thank the gods you're awake," Viggo said. He sounded different than Hiccup had ever heard him, and this was strange enough to make Hiccup try and sit up, "Don't move," Viggo added as Hiccup inhaled sharply in agony. "You dislocated your knee."
"What happened?" Hiccup croaked. It wasn't just his knee; his whole body felt like it had been rattled around like some giant child's toy.
"We crashed," Viggo said simply. He handed Hiccup a waterskin. "I was thrown free into a snowbank, and I saw you and Toothless go down some distance away. You were almost thrown from the saddle, but your device kept you in place." He grimaced. "It did not look particularly enjoyable."
"The antidote," Hiccup blurted, sitting up with a sudden disregard for the pain. Toothless looked at him, startled but otherwise seemingly unharmed. "The antidote! I-if I'm injured, we can't get the antidote and Toothless will--!"
Viggo raised his hands to cut him off. "Calm yourself, Hiccup."
"Calm myself?" Hiccup snapped, fighting against the pain that was quickly reasserting itself. "My dragon's going to die because of you, and you forced us out here for what?! For nothing!" He hated that tears suddenly stung in his eyes, and angrily swiped a hand across his face. He prayed that Viggo couldn't see it in the semi-darkness of this cave, but Viggo's eyes were unfairly sharp.
"Do not panic," Viggo said, and his voice was uncomfortably soft. It almost sounded... sad? Remorseful? He sighed. "If I have your word that you will still help me secure my revenge against Krogan and Johann... I will ease your worries."
"There's nothing you can say," Hiccup said coldly. "This is all your fault. Are you happy now?"
"No," Viggo said, and Hiccup, to his surprise, believed him. "I am not happy to see you hurt or distressed, my dear."
"Don't call me that."
"Do I have your word to help me?" Viggo asked.
"How could I even do that?" Hiccup asked furiously. "Toothless is going to die, I'm going to freeze to death or starve, and so are you. You got what you wanted!"
"I didn't want this," Viggo said. "Hiccup, Toothless is not going to die. Red oleander is harmless to dragons."
Silence echoed between them in the tiny empty space.
"You lied," Hiccup said after forcing his mouth to overcome his shock.
"There was no other way to get you to trust me," Viggo said. "Would you have listened to me for even a moment if I hadn't lied?"
"No," Hiccup admitted. "Why bother taking us up here?" He flinched sharply as Viggo drew a dagger. "Whoa!"
"It's not what you think," Viggo said, stabbing the dagger into the soil. "I brought it to attract the Skrill."
"The one natural predator to the Singetail," Hiccup realized.
"Yes," Viggo said, a touch of satisfaction in his voice. "The dragon eye was created using all my peoples' knowledge; knowledge that I possess."
Hiccup's head was spinning. This had been a genuine plan? It wasn't a cruel trick? But then...
"Why drag me in here?" Hiccup asked. He felt uncomfortable with the idea that Viggo had watched over him while he was unconscious. "You could have left us out there."
Viggo chuckled. "And how was I supposed to get myself back to balmier weather? Sprout my own wings?" He tilted his head to the side. "I wouldn't have left you for dead, Hiccup."
That soft tone was back, the one had made Hiccup's skin prickle like it did when Astrid kissed him and crawl like it did when someone had a knife to his throat. It was such an unsettling combination that he shuddered.
"What do you really want?" he asked. "You don't want me dead, but you try to have me kidnapped so you can kill me yourself? You pretend to poison my dragon to get me on your side?" He balled his fists as Viggo stared at him silently. "Say something!"
"I hadn't expected it to go this way," Viggo said quietly. "I'd rather intended on taking it to my grave."
Taking what?" Hiccup asked, but he thought he knew. It was in the way Viggo's eyes changed when he saw Hiccup, the way he said my dear, the way he stood a little too close and held a little too tight.
Viggo smiled. "Over the course of our little rivalry, my dear Hiccup, I've grown undeniably fond of you. Fond in a way that my late brother and former employer disapproved of. They would rather have cut you down, but I..." He moved closer, and Hiccup, hissing in pain, moved back. "I would rather see you thrive, and be a part of it."
"Don't come closer," Hiccup said, and he cursed the way his voice faltered. He was injured, freezing, isolated, and unarmed. If Viggo wanted something from Hiccup, he was going to take it, and Hiccup couldn't stop him. To his immense relief, Viggo moved back again.
"I don't mean to alarm you," Viggo said, and frowned when Hiccup laughed.
"Sorry," Hiccup said, "but you actually expected that to go well?"
Viggo shrugged. "Not especially."
"You manipulated me into thinking my dragon was dying to get me to do what you wanted," Hiccup said. "Not to mention everything else you've done since we've met."
"It's quite a list," Viggo agreed. "I'm not proud of all of it."
"Really," Hiccup deadpanned. "I can't imagine why."
"I'm not asking for anything in return," Viggo said.
"Except for me to help you get your revenge," Hiccup interrupted.
"That is beneficial for you as well," Viggo pointed out. "I mean in regards to... my feelings."
Hiccup didn't meet his eyes. "You know I have a betrothed."
"And long may you be in love," Viggo said. "No, Hiccup; I merely felt the need to tell you. I am aware that you do not feel the same."
"Good," Hiccup said. His stomach was still squirming. After an uncomfortable silence, he tried to sit up again. His knee was feeling worse, probably due to the cold that was numbing his fingers and remaining toes.
"That knee needs to be set and bound," Viggo said. He reached into Toothless's saddlebag. Hiccup had almost forgotten his dragon was there, which wasn't easy, even in the dark. He hadn't been moving this whole time, but gave Hiccup a lick to reassure him as Viggo removed the emergency blanket Hiccup had packed. Toothless didn't seem uncomfortable around Viggo at all. Hiccup wished he could be so calm.
"Wait," Hiccup said, but Viggo had already grabbed his prosthetic.
"Deep breath," Viggo coached, putting his other hand on Hiccup's thigh. Hiccup had taken a deep breath at the contact anyway, and shouted as Viggo forced his knee back into alignment.
"A little warning next time?" he asked furiously, chest heaving. "Fuck, that hurt!"
"Language," Viggo said with a little smirk. He began tearing the blanket into strips. "After I bind this, you'll need to show me how to operate that genius tail-fin mechanism. I'm assuming you cannot fly in this condition."
"Fine," Hiccup growled. He clenched his fists to fight the pain of Viggo tending his knee. "Saying please wouldn't hurt next time."
"I'll save my politeness for when we reach Dragon's Edge," Viggo said, knotting the binding neatly and grabbing another strip. "I assume I will be imprisoned until you heal, yes?"
"Probably," Hiccup said. "I'll have to convince the others."
"I will assist when necessary," Viggo said primly. "There," he added, tying another knot. "As best as we can do under the circumstances. Come now." He held out a hand to help Hiccup up. "We should be going; you're going to freeze."
Reluctantly, Hiccup took Viggo's warm hand and allowed himself to be towed, wincing and hissing, to his foot. Viggo brought Hiccup's left arm over his shoulders and put an arm around his waist, seemingly unaware of how Hiccup tensed at the proximity. Toothless yawned, stretched, and followed them out. The storm had slackened, but it was getting colder and darker by the moment.
After a brief and clinical tutorial, Viggo had enough skill to operate the tail-fin well enough to get them back to Dragon's Edge, and Hiccup was on Toothless's back with his arms around Viggo Grimborn.
The energy from Viggo's confession was still crackling between them like lightning. It made a twisted sort of sense, but it still made Hiccup's head hurt. He didn't want to think about it more than he had to, but until revenge and the lenses to find the King of Dragons were secured, he had a feeling he'd be thinking about Viggo's confession a lot.