I do not own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise.

Close Call

"Gobber! Gobber, wait, I can-ouch! Gobber, you're gonna tear my ear off!"

His whining only caused Gobber to tighten his grip on Hiccup's right ear. The boy weakly tried to pry the man's hand off, but it was no use. His small hands didn't even come close to wrapping around his mentor's wrist and the difference in strength between the two was vast.

As his house came into view, so did the panic welling up inside him. If his father joined in the interrogation, he wouldn't stand a chance. He would quickly cave and spill everything, and then the dare contest would be put to stop. Even though that wasn't something that would upset him, he knew Ruffnut, Astrid and Snotlout would be disappointed.

Plus, Stoick would discover who cut off his beard all those months ago, and that would result in the thrashing of a lifetime. Not exactly something he wanted.

"I'm sorry!" Hiccup cried, frantically digging his heels into the dirt. His metal prosthetic served as a good grip, and Gobber had to slow his pace. When the man shot him a sharp glare, Hiccup pleaded, "Seriously, I can explain! You don't have to bring me to Dad!"

Gobber pursed his lips, eyes darting between the Haddock household, which loomed on top of the slope ahead, and Hiccup, who was pale and really did look sorry. Relinquishing his grip, Gobber crossed his arms and growled, "Explain, then. Explain what lunacy claimed you and caused you to vandalize my forge!"

Hiccup flinched and nervously folded his hands. "Okay, well, it's entirely stupid, like most things I get up to. Snotlout was being a jerk, like he usually is, though this time it got on my nerves. He put me up to it, and I'm not exactly the greatest at denying a challenge from my wonderful cousin."

"So Snotlout challenged you to mess up my weapons and paint Bertha," said Gobber slowly, eyes narrowed.

Hiccup gulped and gave a nod. It was partly the truth, so he only felt partly guilty. "But the paint washes off, promise! I'll clean everything up, I always intended to clean it up. Just please don't tell Dad. He'll think I've lost my mind. I'm really, really sorry. It won't happen again!"

Gobber stared at the boy intently. Green eyes stared imploringly at him, and the seasoned Viking felt his fury edge away. Yes, he had been extremely surprised and angry upon discovering his own apprentice as the culprit. Hiccup was not one to cause trouble (at least, not this kind of trouble) and so the blacksmith was rightly worried.

But Hiccup's explanation made sense. Snotlout was well known for aggravating his cousin, and the lanky teen didn't really know when to walk away. Then again, it was also a convenient explanation…

"So this little episode has nothing to do with the time you wore a dress? Or Stoick's missing beard? Or the other weird occurrences happening around here?"

Hiccup shuffled his good foot and offered an innocent smile. "Well, weird things are always happening. I mean, the twins are wild, after all. Their pranks are legendary."

"Uh-huh." Gobber was not convinced. Something was going on, and the teens of Berk were no doubt the cause. "I'll let this slide for now. But if any of you mess with my forge again, or do something inexcusably stupid, the lot of you will face Stoick. Am I understood?"

Hiccup nodded so fast that he nearly gave himself whiplash. "Understood! I'll try to keep the pranks reigned in. But you know how no one likes to listen to me."

"Funny, considering you don't like to listen to anyone." Gobber leaned forwards and gave the boy a sharp cuff around the head with his good hand. "Behave."

"Got it." Hiccup winced at the ache that was now developing at the back of his head and gingerly prodded the injury. "Have I ever mentioned that you're the greatest?"

Gobber only gave a grunt in response and lumbered off, casting one last suspicious glare over his shoulder. Hiccup only smiled and waved, and when his mentor was out of sight he collapsed to the ground in relief.

"Well. That went…okay."

…

"Look who's still alive!"

Astrid's teasing tone caused Hiccup to lift his head from the wooden table. He peered at the blonde through sleepy eyes. "Wassup?" He asked groggily.

"Long night?" Astrid asked sympathetically, sitting down next to him.

"Yeah. I got busted, but he let me off with a warning. I think he wants to figure out what we're doing before deciding whether or not he needs to report it to my dad. I mean, he's only been the victim for a few of our dares."

"We'll keep him out of the dares for the time being," assured Astrid.

"You look horrible."

"Thanks, Ruff." Hiccup rolled his eyes as the rest of the teens approached the table.

"Did you get in trouble?" Fishlegs asked anxiously.

"Yes. He busted me, I went home for three hours of sleep before going back and cleaning up my mess."

"But at least he doesn't hate you," said Astrid cheerfully.

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "My original version of the dare was so much better."

"And would have gotten me killed," said Hiccup flatly. "But let's move on. Ruff, I dare you to dye your hair pink."

Ruffnut's face twisted in disgust. She pulled on her shoulder-length blonde locks, which was not even close to its original length. "I hate pink," she groused.

"Do it!" Tuffnut grinned wickedly. "It's not like you can get any uglier."

Ruffnut spared a moment to slug her brother in the shoulder before turning to Hiccup with a resigned expression. "Well, I want to win this thing, so fine. How long do I have to keep it pink?"

"For as long as it stays," Hiccup said simply.

"Not too bad, then. Hopefully we'll get some rain and I'll just take a stroll."

She missed the devious expression that crossed her brother's face.

…

Tuffnut left the Great Hall soon after, proclaiming that he had forgotten to refill Barf and Belch's feeding bucket. Ruffnut was mildly surprised that her sibling was taking the initiative to do chores, but so long as she wasn't the one that needed to do it, she didn't think much of it.

Her mistake.

The long-haired Viking made his way to the forge, ensuring that Gobber was nowhere in sight before slipping in. He knew that if he busted, it would most likely be the end of the dare contest.

He found the can of pink paint, which would be used for Ruffnut's hair. A small dose of tree sap was added to ensure that the colour would stay for a small period of time. No Viking liked to keep their hair coloured for more than a week, if they did it at all.

Smirking, Tuffnut upended half of the container of sap into the can and swished it around. "Sorry sis, but I'm afraid a stroll through the rain isn't going to help."

He would be so dead when she found out, but it would totally be worth it.

Dare suggestion by MeoTheRandom.

Next chapter: in which Ruffnut dares Astrid.