•~Eli~•

Maybe he could use this as a ploy, use it to his own advantage rather than admit he actually needed help from his adversary. Viggo drummed his hands on his thigh as he sat rigid on the dragon he “trained,” (in reality he had cut the ropes trapping a dragon stuck in the volcano with him, it seemed to have been grateful and showed that by flying Viggo out) his body was aching and crying out with every flap of the beast's wings, his wounds from the lava were still fresh and, gods above, did they hurt- but they also ground him, kept him awake and at least partially aware. Viggo knew he wasn’t far from the edge now, he could see it rapidly approaching in the distance, only a mere few minutes away and yet he still couldn’t come up with a good enough plan after that whole flight- his head was aching too much to think let alone make an entire scheme. As the dragon landed on the island he finally relented and opted to play this by ear instead. Viggo huffed as he slid off the dragon- which quirked its head in response- and placed a surprisingly (especially to him) gentle hand on the dragon's nose, his way of thanking the beast, before he limped closer to hiccup’s hut on the edge. It wasn’t hard to find, the sleeping night fury basking in the moonlight was a dead giveaway. Now, sneaking around the dragon would be a bit more difficult, if hiccup hadn’t made a back entrance and left it completely unguarded. He internally scoffed, he’d have to bring that up to the boy at some point, he’d get himself killed if he wasn’t more careful.

Hiccup was deep asleep on his bed, breathing long since evened out and quiet. Viggo strained as he climbed the stairs to the loft, trying desperately to keep the pained groans from spilling through his gritted teeth. One escaped though, as he reached the top and damn near collapsed. Hiccup practically leapt out of bed, eyes darting rapidly across the room before landing on Viggo, an evident panic rising in his tired eyes. “Fret not, my Dear Hiccup. I’m not here with animosity in mind.” Viggo forced himself to say, each word falling from his lips with a clear agony. “Oh my gods, what happened to you?” Hiccup said quietly, rushing to Viggo's side with the intent to help- though with an edge of caution to his step. “We thought you were dead.” His hands hovered cautiously in the air, like he was afraid to touch the man that had tormented him for so long. “I believed I was too, my boy.” Viggo finally fell, his legs giving way beneath him. Hiccup was quick enough to catch him, thankfully. There was a hidden strength to the small boy, his lanky form somehow able to hold Viggo’s weight without much struggle. Viggo didn’t let that get to his head just yet though, instead he just focused on not passing out. Hiccup helped him to the bed, letting him collapse onto it with a grunt. Silence filled the room as Hiccup moved to grab a small medkit he kept nearby. He came back quickly, though Viggo barely registered it as he finally let himself begin to slip into an unconscious state.

When Viggo reawoke it was about midday, had he really slept that long? Hiccup sat on the floor at the bottom of the bed, back leaning against it as he flipped halfmindedly through the pages of whatever book he was reading. Viggo choked back a gasp as he sat up, the wooden bed creaking beneath him with his movement. Hiccup's eyes flicked to Viggo’s own, scanning across his face as he stood and moved closer, sliding onto the edge of the bed next to Viggo. “You’re awake.” He stated the obvious, brushing some stray strands of hair out of Viggo’s face and feeling his forehead. “It seems I am.” Viggo muttered, voice weak and hoarse. “You’re cooler than last night.” Hiccup let out a soft sigh of relief, and it was as Viggo turned his face to look at him properly that he realized just how little he could actually see now, with only one working eye. He pursed his lips and hummed softly, lifting his hand to feel the burns, only for the pain to shoot through him, returning all at once and making- for the first time in recent years- tears well up in his eyes.

Viggo could usually withstand pain, he had been forced to learn how to when he was just a boy. “Tears show weakness, you cannot be weak.” His father had engraved that into his head, and his brother ‘helped’ him grow a tolerance with all the fights they’d get into (sure if it were a logical debate or a maces and talons game Viggo would win in mere minutes, but physically? Ryker always beat him in that aspect.) Viggo struggled to hold them back, the pain was worse than when the lava first burned him, and worse than anything he’d felt before. Hiccup (unlike Viggo’s peers or kin) didn’t seem to care, instead he cupped Viggo’s nonburned cheek and wiped the tears away before he could even think twice about it. It surprised Viggo, both the tenderness he was so easily shown, as well as the fact he actually enjoyed it. It had been so long since anyone showed they cared, the last person he remembered had been his mother, who was long since dead. When Hiccup went to pull his hand away Viggo was quick enough to wrap his hand around the smaller boy's wrist, keeping it firmly in place against his cheek. “You getting soft, Grimborn?” The boy teased, getting a husky chuckle in response. Viggo attempted not to melt further into Hiccup's hand and instead leaned closer to Hiccup himself. A knock and familiar voice sounded through the room before the door swung open, sending Hiccup scrambling to his feet, rushing to go and stop whoever it was before they spotted Viggo.

“Hiccup?” A woman’s voice -sounding too coordinated to be the girl twin- called out. “Yeah- yeah! I’m here!” Hiccup stumbled out, practically falling as he ran down the stairs and turned Astrid around, beginning to lead her out the door once more. “Are you okay?” She asked in an almost accusatory tone, looking over her shoulder to try to get a look of the room Hiccup was trying desperately to get her out of. “Who, me? Wha- I’m fine! Why wouldn’t I be?!” “You’re being weird.” She scoffed, stopping in her tracks and turning to face Hiccup. “What are you hiding?” “I uhh.. I am making… uh… You an outfit!” Hiccup said, pursing his lips and nodding. “So uh, you got me! It was supposed to be a surprise.” He drawled, ending his sentence with that nervous laugh he usually did when he lied. “Let me finish here and I’ll come find you!” He was quick to slam the door shut, pushing a chair against it as Astrid yelled a protest outside before giving up and walking off. “An outfit?” Viggo questioned, cocking his head with a wince as it made a burning pain shoot down his spine. “Shut it.” Hiccup grumbled, grabbing a small leather pouch filled with water before climbing the stairs once more and shoving it in Viggo’s face. “Drink.” he demanded, making Viggo raise a brow. He said nothing, though, opting to just drink instead. It was cold, yet burned. Not the most welcome feeling right now, but Viggo said nothing about it, choosing to just drink as much as he felt he physically could at that moment before passing it to Hiccup. The boy took a swig, head tilted back as he drank before closing the container and wiping at droplets that spilt from his lips. “I must admit, my dear, I don’t think you’d be so willing to help.” Viggo said after a beat of silence. “Well, I couldn’t just let you be in pain…” he murmured, gaze flicking to the side as he avoided making eye contact, something else Viggo didn’t quite recognize laced within his voice.

The next week or so continued similarly to that; Hiccup caring for Viggo throughout the day with the two having surprisingly civil conversations and, to Viggo’s enjoyment, playing a few rounds of Maces and Talons. Though when the day came that Viggo could walk on his own once again, he was quick to make his escape into the night- turns out that dragon that saved him earlier had remained on the island, and was happy to fly him away. For the first time in his life though, Viggo looked back, wondering if he was making the right decision or if he should have remained with Hiccup a moment longer. Viggo ignored the nagging in the back of his head that screamed for him to turn around, to give into the quiet voice that begged him to stay with Hiccup, to go ‘good’ and help the riders just so he could remain by his adversaries side. But would he even accept him? Would Hiccup welcome Viggo like he welcomed the others whom he had successfully changed the minds of? Or would Hiccup and his dragon riders always have a distrust and hatred towards him? Viggo didn’t know, and he supposed he wouldn’t- at least not for a long while. Maybe one day he could be near Hiccup without the underlying hostility and malice, but until that day Viggo would just have to accept the short bursts of time he got to spend with Hiccup whilst going against one another in their little intellectual battle of wits, and hope that some day he could be with Hiccup again, with no more games or tricks, just… them, enjoying each others presence.