“C’mon, Shattermaster! Daddy believes in you!”

Dagur laughed as he and his companion zipped through the air, cheering the green-scaled dragon on. They were racing you and Hiccup. It’d been a rather boring day on the Edge, as shocking as that may have been. Astrid was out on a scouting run with Snotloud, and the twins were off doing…well, who knows what.

Regardless, the three were left alone, and it didn’t take much to get Dagur’s wheels turning on new ideas to pass the time.

Soaring ahead, Hiccup and Toothless take the lead. The bold red tail gives both of you a clear view of who just passed you, drawing multiple groans. Those two always seemed to win the races…

Except you had a new technique.

You and your dragon took a swift dive, swooping ahead of Hiccup as you caught a strong wind gust. It was incredibly close, but you passed the finish line in the dirt right before the pair. Dagur was a good few seconds behind, though he was cheering you on the whole way. “YES, hahaha! Oh, you smoked him!”

“Yeah, good job,” Hiccup applauded, placing a hand on your shoulder. It’d been a while since one of you had beaten him. “How’d you get that lift on the wings for your dive at the end?”

You smiled at the praise, knowing the dismissive nature of his response was rooted in curiosity and respect. He was happy for you—he simply wanted to figure out how your trick worked. “Found a wind gust. I’ve been practicing, figuring out their paths and how to use them. Pretty good, huh?”

“Wow, I hadn’t—”

“WHOOO YEAH!”

You jumped as a pair of strong arms suddenly closed around your middle, lifting you into the air. It was obviously Dagur—the scars made it easy to tell—but it still spooked you. “My Thor, Dagur, warn me next time!”

“Aw, c’mon! You beat Hiccup! That’s cause for celebration!” he smiled, giving your sides a few teasing squeezes. They were meant to playfully annoy you, but instead, you yelped.

Dagur panicked at your little yelp, immediately setting you down in front of him. “Oh, Gods, did I hurt you? Pierce a lung? Bruise a rib? How many heads do I have?”

“No, Dagur, it’s— uh, one?” you blinked, trying to catch up to his runaway train of thought. You looked over to Hiccup for help, but quickly discovered you weren’t getting any. He was simply smirking at you like the smug bastard he was, knowing why you had yelped. He always knew…

“Then…why’d you make that sound? That wasn’t a normal sound, and trust me, I’m well-versed in them,” he questioned, ginger brows furrowing with concern. His hands remained on your shoulders, his firm grim cementing the fact that you were screwed.

“It’s nothing, okay? Just…” You took a breath, knowing that the next four words out of your mouth would seal your fate. “It just kinda tickled.”

You watched as realization slowly dawned on Dagur’s face, his pinched concern morphing into giddy glee. “You’re ticklish.” His grip on your shoulders tightened a bit, making you gulp.

“Mph, mphmhmhm… Oh brother?” he giggled, looking over at Hiccup with a wide grin. “Would you mind helping me with our friend here?”

Your eyes widened at his sudden request. Trying to dissuade Dagur was pointless, so you trained your gaze on Hiccup. “Wait, Hiccup, c’mon. Let’s think about this, yeah?”

“Alright,” he nodded. The man tapped his chin a few times before walking over, giving your stomach a poke. “I thought about it, and I’m still doing it.”

“You little— OHOhoho Gohohods!”

The attempt to threaten Hiccup went right out the window as Dagur squeezed your sides again, moving around to hold you from behind. Escaping was impossible thanks to his strength, leaving you stuck between the two men.

“Ooohoohoo, that’s a fun sound!”

Dagur’s eager little giggles were usually endearing, although you found it hard to properly appreciate them while he was causing chaos for you. Hiccup began to randomly poke at your stomach as well, making you flinch and jerk in Dagur’s hold. Not fair, not fair at all.

“This is pretty fun, right brother?” Dagur grinned, skittering his fingers across your ribs for a moment. Every one of your reactions were fascinating to him. “They’re wriggling around like a river eel!”

“I’m shocked you hadn’t already found out about this, Dagur,” Hiccup chuckled, giving that little spot beside your navel a few quick pokes. “They haven’t exactly been hiding the fact.”

“Shuhuhut uhuhup!”

Dagur shook his head, tsk-tsking at you. “Guess I’ll need to come around the Edge more often, won’t I? Can’t have you hiding things from me! That’s where slippery little secret slopes get started.” His fingers dug a little further into your sides, making you squeal.

“I’m not sure it counts as a secret if you’re the only one who didn’t know,” Hiccup mumbled, smiling as he jabbed at Dagur. It was a harmless little comment, but it still got the berserker’s sights set on him.

“Oh really, Hiccup? You have something to say?” he questioned, narrowing his eyes at the slim man. His fingers slowed on your sides as his focus shifted, giving you a chance to catch your breath.

Hiccup bit his lip at the direct acknowledgement; he could sense the playful threat in Dagur’s tone. Still, he didn’t backpedal, deciding that the facts might save him. “Well, uh…I was just saying, you’re the last to know. They get into tickle fights with the twins pretty often.”

“Hmph. Well, how kind of you to inform me of this key detail about our good friend here,” Dagur grinned, his voice unsettlingly even and calm. It’s almost scary, hearing him speak that way. He gave your arm a little pat, pressing his forehead to your shoulder for a moment. “I’m gonna give you a break now, okay?”

You weren’t arguing with that. You stepped aside, hearing Dagur crack his knuckles. Hiccup’s eyes widened, but before he could even think about running, the berserker was on him. You couldn’t help but giggle as the two toppled to the grass, wrestling to try and get the upper hand. Dagur won that hand rather quickly.

“DAHAHAGUHUHUR!”

Hiccup’s back arched as his ribs were targeted, his good foot stomping against the dirt. Dagur had him pinned on his back, arms above his head, and goofy expression on full display. There was no way he was escaping that.

“What? Can’t use your snarky words when you’re laughing, can ya?” he goaded, giving each pair of ribs a special little scritch. He was surprisingly delicate while tickling the fragile bones, careful not to do any more than tickle the man. “That’s what you get for messing with Dagur, baby!”

“You two are such dorks,” you huffed, shaking your head at the pair. You’d finally caught your breath, free to watch the chaos unfold in front of you.

Hiccup squirmed and wriggled on the grass, eyes meeting yours. He couldn’t move his arms, though you had a feeling he’d be reaching out if he could. “HEHEHEHELP!”

“Aw, there’s no help for you, brother,” cooed Dagur, giving his hair a quick ruffle before moving back to his rib cage. “They’ve already had their dose. Now it’s your turn, and the medic’s in!”

That got on your nerves a bit. Was he suggesting that you couldn’t handle standing up for the poor rider? How dare he? With a huff of amused annoyance, you crouched down behind Dagur and ran your nails down either side of his exposed neck.

Dagur jerked, a shrill yelp leaving him. Both his hands flew up to his neck, swatting at your own as he released Hiccup’s wrists.

The other man wasted no time, his smaller hands latching onto Dagur’s waist and squeezing away. It was chaotic as all Helheim, but man, was it fun.

“GYAhahah! Ohoho, youhuhu muhuhuttonheads!”

Dagur practically growled those words through his laughter, though you both knew the sound of true anger in his voice, and it wasn’t present. He was simply trying to intimidate the two of you into backing off.

That definitely wasn’t going to happen.

“C’mon, lighten up! It’s your turn, mister berserker,” you chided, giving the small bit of pudge beneath his navel a quick tase. His voice cracked for a moment, laughter pitching up as the spot was targeted. “Ooo, bad spot?”

“SHUHUHUT IHIHIT!”

Hiccup laughed a bit at that, his hair still a wreck from the earlier tickles. He was simply too focused on “revenge” to care enough about fixing it. “Here, try his ears. Just don’t let him bite you.”

“IHI WIHIHILL! K-KEHEEP YOUHUR FIHIHINGERS AWAHAY, OR THEHEHEY’RE MIHIHINE!”

“Duly noted.”

As your fingers traveled upward, you couldn’t help but smile at the situation you found yourself in. Two of your favorite people in the archipelago were lying in the grass with you, smiling for one reason or another. You all were having stupid, careless fun—and Thor, did it feel good to laugh like that.