Chapter Text
i. Boy Meet Twins
Dragon Raids were, by this point, an inconvenience in Hiccup’s mind more than the fear-inducing events they were supposed to be. He was all of ten-winters-old, too old to be stuck in the Mead Hall with younger children, too young to understand the very real fear of war. All his peers had been given duties, small things but still things. He was the only one stuck inside.
No longer. Hiccup was going to prove himself. He was going to kill a dragon.
Sure, he was smaller than all his peers, who could barely hold their own axes up. And yes, maybe Dad was right to keep him out of the way because he was easy picking.
But what Hiccup had that others didn’t have was an invention. Ever since he began working with Gobber, his mind had been running a rôst a minute. Late-night ideas had finally found their places in papers, drawn and designed to perfection.
Hiccup could do this. And then he’d show them he wasn’t just the runt of the pack. He wasn’t useless.
It was them that were useless, with their insistence on killing things with their bare, beefy hands. It would be much easier to kill dragons this way, for everyone. Efficient, elegant, easy .
(No, Hiccup wasn’t bitter that he didn’t have the stature his Dad wanted him to have. Why would he be? He had a brain.)
Hiccup timed his exit from the Great Hall with a blast from the outside, everyone too busy hiding to worry about little Hiccup. He left through the back exit, coughing as he stepped into smoke. The world was red, out here.
Nothing unusual, then.
Being small was an advantage sometimes - like running from Snotlout, hiding from Dad and Gobber, climbing into small places. It made it easier to slip into shadows and duck beneath debris. Neither dragon nor viking seemed to notice him as he headed to Gobber’s shop, abandoned now as they reached into the thick of battle where every hand needed to be on deck.
Including his, Hiccup thought giddily. He pulled out his weapon of choice.
“You’re going to be beautiful, baby,” Hiccup said, immediately getting embarrassed at himself but grinning still.
It was a stroke of late night genius. He had been unable to sleep because Astrid had glared at him and said he wouldn’t survive till next winter if he couldn’t even throw a spear yet. Which, rude - but it got him thinking. What if he could throw spears?
Or rather, have something throw spears for him. It was quite simple, really.
Hiccup loaded the spear onto the machine, much like a crossbow but much more sophisticated. All he needed to do was get it outside -
“I forgot to add wheels.”
Hiccup face palmed. He knew he had been forgetting something.
“This is fine,” he said as fire burned in the background, “I’ll just aim out the window.”
It ended up being decided not fine.
(Hiccup needed to stop jinxing himself.)
See, the thing about dragons was that their hides were tough and Hiccup’s machines could throw a spear at only one speed, which was a speed a bit too slow. The spear flew out like a charm but instead of penetrating the Gronkle as intended, the spear bounced off and found its way into someone’s house.
No matter, Hiccup reassured himself as the dragon turned on him. He fumbled with the next spear, trying to load it and -
And it didn’t shoot.
What? Hiccup frantically searched the machine, tugging at the strings and gears. Somehow, the trigger wasn’t working but why ? It had been so perfect. It was going to be beautiful .
“HICCUP!” Gobber roared, hooking his hand into the boy’s tunic and pulling him out of the shop, “What in Thor’s dirty undies are you doing here?”
That’s when Gobber’s shop exploded.
“For Odin’s sake – “ Gobber glared, “Stay here .”
Hiccup watched them man charge at the Gronkle that had destroyed the shop in dismay. His weapon was long gone now, burned to ash.
Along with a ton of other weapons, and unlike Hiccup, the other vikings were not going to be calm about it.
“Wow.”
Hiccup flinched, turning. Of course, there had been people to notice his humiliation. No one ever showed up when Hiccup was doing something right.
“H-hey Tuffnut,” Hiccup said, cringing.
Tuffnut was looking at the destruction behind Hiccup with a wide-eyed, dreamy look. Ruffnut was there too, holding a bucket - they must have been upgraded to Fire Control. Which was now something anyone expected from the twins.
“Did you just destroy all our weapons?” Ruffnut asked, grinning.
“No!” Hiccup protested, then amended, “O-only the ones that were in for repairs.”
“Oh, so half of them then.”
Hiccup frowned, “Okay, bu-but I almost killed a Gronkle.”
Ruffnut laughed, “Sure you did kiddo! And my brother’s almost smart!”
Tuffnut were still gaping at the burning building. “Wow.”
Hiccup sighed, “So are you gonna put out the fire or …”
“Nah,” Ruffnut said, “Let it burn.”
“You know, little H,” Tuffnut said, finally looking away from the fire, “We’re always wrecking havoc. It’s like our specialty. But you my friend - you are a walking disaster.”
“Gee, thanks.”
The roof on the smithy collapsed inward. Hiccup sighed. Ruffnut and Tuffnut looked at him in awe.
Hiccup hadn’t known it then, and wouldn’t ever know it, but that was the day that he first truly began falling out of favour with his father - and the day that he began falling into favour with the most insane duo on Berk.
—
Hiccup was grounded after the incident with the smithy. His days included rebuilding what he had destroyed and staying indoors and not touching another one of your ideas Hiccup, I mean it.
“I just wanted to prove myself,” Hiccup grumbled, “And I would have! If that stupid trigger worked.”
He tried to mentally figure out what had gone wrong, because Gobber was a stickler for Dad’s rules and was not letting him near any pen or paper. It wouldn’t be forever, of course, but it would be for long enough to get Hiccup annoyed.
“Yer still going on ‘bout that?” Gobber groaned as he hammered some wood into place, “Give it a rest Hiccup. Ya could’ve died ye know?”
“I was fine,” Hiccup protested.
“Ye were not,” Gobber sighed, “Seriously, I don’t know what goes on in that tiny head of yers. What good is killin’ a dragon if you don’t do it with yer - “
“Bare beefy hands I know.”
“I never said beefy,” Gobber said, waving his hammer-arm around.
“Oh but Gobber, I meant me,” Hiccup said sarcastically, “Me and all the muscle I don’t know what to do with.”
Gobber chuckled, the lecture successfully diverted. Gobber shook his head.
“Alright, let’s get ye back home. I’ll get ye for nattmal.”
Hiccup crossed his arms indignantly, “I don’t need to be chaperoned!”
“Sure ya don’t. Of course you’d just go straight back home, ey?”
Hiccup tried his best to make an innocent face, “Exactly!”
Gobber ruffled his hair, “Yer lucky yer so cute, ye know that? And tiny. Or else I’d have left ye to the wolves.”
“I’m not small! I’m ten!”
“So I should leave ye to the wolves, then?”
“That’s not - I didn’t - Gobber !”
Gobber laughed, and heat climbed up Hiccup’s face. But he smiled a little too. Unlike everyone else in the village, Gobber was always nice to him. And sometimes he even understood what Hiccup was going on about with his projects, though he rarely encouraged them.
He understood more than Dad, anyway.
Gobber made sure he got into the Chief’s hut before turning around to leave. Hiccup made sure Gobber was at least halfway down the path before turning around towards the backdoor. To leave.
Really, Dad and Gobber should know Hiccup better by now. It was their own fault.
Gleefully, Hiccup grabbed his secret notebook from the floorboard under his bed and semi-skipped out the door. It was going to be a good day -
“Hey, Hiccup!”
Hiccup froze, “H-hey?”
Ruffnut and Tuffnut grinned widely from where they were. Upside down. On a wooden beam. On his house.
Hiccup, and most of Berk, were somewhat used to the twins being, well, themselves. Much like how most of Berk was used to Hiccup being himself. Still, the twins were more foe than friend, having sided with Snotlout far too many times before. And anyway, the Thorstons were infamous for being bad news in general - the twins were mild compared to some of their other family members.
Hiccup approached this situation with due caution, narrowing his eyes and stepping well out of range in case one of them fell.
“Wh-what are you guys doing?”
“Head rush!” Tuffnut answered, “It helps us clear our heads.”
“And we’re trying to see who lasts the longest!” Ruffnut said, “Me, obviously.”
“No, me!”
They began butting heads in midair, swinging wildly. Hiccup slowly inched away, deciding to just leave them be.
They had other plans.
“So, where are you headed Hiccup?” Ruffnut asked gleefully, “Going to go pray to Loki?”
“What, no, what, why would I - "
Tuffnut threw an arm around Hiccup’s shoulder, making him tense, “Or get some more machines to blow things up with?”
“The blowing up was on the Gronkle.”
“No need to be humble, you’re a wreck,” Tuffnut said.
Irritated, Hiccup threw off the other boys arms and walked forward, “I was going to explore the forest. Why don’t you guys just - " Hiccup made a shooing motion.
The twins grinned instead, not budging.
“You see, young Hiccup, we have come to a conclusion …” Tuffnut began.
“Something about you draws disaster,” Ruffnut agreed, mimicking her brother's sagely voice.
“And therefore …”
“We have decided to follow you because …”
“We’re starved of entertainment!” they finished together.
Hiccup groaned, “Do what you want,” and stomped off, mumbling angrily, “Can’t stop you anyway. I can’t do anything right.”
—
ii. Twins meet Boy
“This is boring,” Ruffnut groaned for the upteenth time.
“Yeah,” Tuffnut agreed, for the upteenth time.
They were dragging their legs, swinging their arms in an exaggerated motion of being weighed down. Tuffnut had his tongue stuck out, as though the boredom was killing him.
“I never said it would be fun,” Hiccup shot back, “You could just leave.”
“And do what? Bully Fishlegs? We’ve done that already,” Ruffnut complained.
Hiccup very much didn’t want the other boy to be bullied and wisely kept his mouth shut. He had almost forgotten that the twins were pretty mean when they wanted to be.
“Why hasn’t lightning struck you yet?” Tuffnut complained, “And started a wildfire to ravage Berk?”
“Why hasn’t lightning struck you yet,” Hiccup muttered. He raised his voice, “Look, I’m just mapping out the area. It’s cool! Like how - “
“BORING!” Ruffnut yelled
“C’mon Ruff, let’s hit something.”
“We could hit Hiccup.”
Oh no, Hiccup thought, nervous and ready to run. This was all too familiar, though the twins had never attacked him without Snotlout being there to order them around. But they were bored, and everyone knew bored Thorstons were bad Thorstons.
“Nah,” Tuffnut said, to Hiccup’s relief, “He’s too skinny, we’d kill him.”
“And you guys aren’t skinny?” Hiccup yelped indignantly.
“Have you seen my sister’s fat butt?”
“Have you seen my brother?”
Hiccup looked them up and down. They were ten, like him, and almost just as scrawny. The only reason they weren’t picked on was because they were twice as crazy. And anyway, Hiccup wasn’t just skinny, he was small. He chose not to comment.
“Do your parents know you’re out here?” Hiccup pressed, “It’s getting late, maybe you should go back.”
“Does your dad know,” Ruffnut sniped back.
Hiccup glared, “I’m used to this place. I know every nook and cranny. You’ll just get lost.”
“Oh yeah?” Ruffnut challenged, “Well we know every cook and nanny too!”
Hiccup snorted in disbelief, “Then why don’t you make it out on your own? You don’t need me.”
“‘Course we don’t need you, useless!” Ruffnut snapped.
“But it’s fun bothering you,” Tuffnut said, tone lighter than his sister’s, “And if you really know every look and manny then I bet you’ve got something cool to show us.”
Both Hiccup and Ruffnut lit up.
Excitedly, Hiccup said, “I know just the place. This way!”
He was delighted to find out he was faster than both of them, though only by a bit. He hadn’t been lying - he knew the forest like the back of his hands. Childhoods spent alone with a notebook meant he had documented every rock formation, every slope and curve, every fallen tree. He laughed when Ruffnut tripped over a stump in an attempt to catch up and Tuffnut fell into a stream that Hiccup easily jumped over.
Winter was approaching in rapid succession now, with the forest floor littered with oranges and browns. As they ran, the fallen leaves crunched underfoot and soon, they were all trying to step on as many as they could, trying to make as much noise as possible.
Hiccup giggled when slipped on some mud, getting his tunic dirty, and Ruffnut pulled him up happily. It was almost like they were friends, suddenly but naturally, a simple afterthought to their little adventure.
The incline began to get steeper, the rocks around them becoming sharper. They were reaching the edge of the berk.
“We’re here!” Hiccup said, breathless, as he stared up the cliff - not the tallest one around, but the most practical, “Well, almost. Now we climb up!”
“Race you!” Ruffnut said, as Tuffnut yelled, “Up?”
“You’re not scared of heights, are you?” Hiccup teased.
Tuffnut sniffed, “‘Course not, I was more worried about you, runt.”
If Hiccup needed any more incentive to be the first one to the top, he just got it. Climbing up was easy, knowing all the footholds that the cliff-face had to offer, but Ruffnut and Tuffnut were stronger than him, and more experienced.
He was losing. Until Ruffnut stepped on Tuffnut’s face to get ahead, and he pulled her leg in retaliation. Hiccup giggled.
“You guys are your own downfall!” Hiccup yelled down at them, when he reached the top.
They groaned in unison, grumbling as they finally stopped fighting and began climbing up. Hiccup happily sat on his knees, waiting. Ruffnut glared at him as she passed.
“I would’ve won.”
“Sure.”
“A little help here?” Tuffnut called, having slipped from his foothold and now holding on for his dear life.
Hiccup immediately tried pulling him up, failing spectacularly. Fortunately, Ruffnut was more used to pulling around humans.
“You’re crazy, little man,” Tuffnut said, “And that’s coming from me. How high up are we?”
“Nine farlongs above the sea,” Hiccup said smugly.
“Woah,” Ruffnut said, “That’s like - that’s nine whole Monstrous Nightmares combined!”
Hiccup gave her a strange look, “How long do you think Nightmares are?”
“Yeah. It’s more like … ten,” Tuffnut said, giving Hiccup a brief glance that was almost questioning.
“Try a hundred,” Hiccup grinned, “Now c’mon, this way. Careful!”
The cliff plateaued off, low-lying foliage covering their way. Hiccup pushed them aside easily, gesturing at his new companions – friends? – to come along. He held some branches aside, allowing them through first.
“Huh,” Ruffnut said, fighting wonderment out of her voice, “That’s - that’s pretty neat.”
“It’s freaking amazing,” Tuffnut said, more honest than his twin, “Definitely a hundred Nightmares high.”
Over the edge of the cliff, the sea stretched beyond them. Below them was a sharp drop-off, so standing at the edge felt like standing on the sea itself. The sun had disappeared below the edge of the world, leaving behind a sky painted deep orange and purple.
“I like coming up here,” Hiccup admitted, “Though it’s not my favourite place ‘cause you have to climb so much. I - I know some other places - cooler ones - this one was just close by - “
Ruffnut blinked, “You wanna show them to us?”
Hiccup shrugged, “If you want. But you can’t tell anyone!” he frowned, “Especially not Snotlout. This has got to be our secret, okay?”
The twin grinned, and put out the pinkies. Hiccup stared at them.
“We’re making a pinkie promise, idiot,” Ruffnut said, “Gotta wrap your finger around ours, like this …”
Hiccup wrapped his pinkies around theirs, one for each twin.
“You’re okay, for a runt,” Tuffnut allowed.
Hiccup smiled, “And you guys are kind of okay too.”
—
That night at nattmal, Hiccup sat alone.
The twins had bound off the moment they reached Hiccup’s house, barely saying goodbye. Hiccup had had to patiently wait for Gobber to show up lest someone realised that he had left. Gobber brought him to the Mead Hall, commenting on Hiccup’s muddy tunic with a raised eyebrow.
Hiccup had raised an eyebrow back. Or tried to. It didn’t work because both his eyebrows raised together.
Now in the Hall, Hiccup sat at his usual table in the corner, notebook open. He spied the twins sitting with Snotlout, Fishlegs and Astrid, along with some other kids younger and older than them.
He was a little worried that they’d tell the others off the cliff and the others would make fun of him. But so far no one has approached.
You just have to jinx yourself, don’t you, Hiccup , he thought bitterly as a large shadow was cast over him.
“D-dad.”
“Hiccup,” Stoick the Vast greeted, a booming voice that couldn’t be quietened even as he tried, “I thought I said no more ideas.”
“Not an idea,” Hiccup said, closing the book, “Just drawing.”
It was true. He’d been drawing himself and the twins by the cliff, the day having both exhausted and invigorated him. He wondered if they could go on more adventures.
Probably not, he figured with a sinking heart. He looked at the twins, laughing louder and looking much more interested in whatever Snotlout had to say than with anything Hiccup had said. The twins were pretty rough and rambunctious and Hiccup was, well, a runt.
No one would ever want to be friends with him.
(Until he proved himself and killed a dragon.)
“Well, I hope none of your drawings cause anymore destruction, got it?” Dad said, “I don’t want you or the village getting hurt.”
“Sure thing.”
Dad adjusted his helmet and Hiccup fought back a sense of satisfaction. The Chief of Berk, rendered awkward by his runt of a son. The irony.
“Well. See you back at the house.”
Hiccup hummed his acknowledgement, going back to his drawing of his maybe-probably-not friends. At least he was keeping his promise to his dad - this drawing couldn’t symbolise destruction, right?
(Hiccup really needed to stop jinxing himself.)