A/N: Wow! I'm totally impressed at all of your ideas of one shots. I'll try to get to them while managing to do mine at the same time. XD
PureCrystal: That sounds both dangerous and interesting...I like it!
Guest: Well, that should be a good dose of angst, right?
Hiccup vs Snotlout pt 2
Hiccup felt somewhat detached as Snotlout started kicking him and beating him up in general. He had learned years ago that if he didn't think about it or acknowledge the fact that he was being beaten to a pulp, then he didn't feel it as much. Sure, some people that actually had cared would have said that this was probably more psychologically damaging than helpful, but Vikings don't feel pain like that Hiccup told himself. They ignore it and move on. There are always battles to be fought and villages to pillage. It wasn't that the the Hairy Hooligans particularly cared for these anymore now that the war with the dragons was over. Pillaging meant materials for your houses that got burned down daily and that was no longer a problem. He knew that he wouldn't be beaten up too badly, because that would blow the 'Snotlout is reformed and no longer beats up his cousin' image he had. Why couldn't he just say something? He wasn't that much of a coward, was he? Reluctantly, Hiccup opened his eyes that he didn't even realize were closed. Snotlout was gone and probably had been for a while. Groaning, he made an attempt to get to his original destination- the forge. He groaned out loud at the implications. Gobber would know. He never told him, but Gobber knew. It was probably because he was such a bad liar. Well, at least things couldn't get much worse..right?
He should've known better than to think that. He REALLY should have.
As he crawled around to look for his prosthetic that his cousin had so lovingly kicked away from him, he heard the telltale sound of the last dragon he probably wanted to see right now. He really should have known that Toothless wouldn't stay at home for long. Usually, he'd be more than happy to see his best friend, but right now he didn't exactly want him to see this. He looked so pathetic, crawling here in the snow and trying to find where his 'foot' was. Stupid Snotlout. He inwardly sighed, knowing Toothless was about to see how bad it was. The next thing he knew, Toothless was sniffing him and checking out the damage. He supposed that the only reason why the dragon hadn't taken off already was because of his current condition. Apparently, Toothless found what Hiccup had been looking for, which was buried in the snow a good fifteen yards away. In the snow meant something cold touching what was sometimes a particularly sensitive area. So, this could be relatively easy and painless or something that made him wish for a quick route to unconsciousness. Steeling himself the best he could, he put his prosthetic on and gritted his teeth when the pain hit. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it definitely had made him dizzy for a few minutes.
Left gasping, Hiccup finally managed to get to his feet...foot, with Toothless as a crutch. He wouldn't usually bother with it, but Snotlout had put him through the ringer and he was barely walking around as it was. They managed a slow process at first, much to Toothless dismay. Hiccup could tell that the dragon just wanted for him to go back home, but he had work to do and he wasn't about to let Snotlout get the best of him. Determined more than ever by that thought, Hiccup started walking on his own just before they reached the entrance...where Gobber stood with a sour look on his face. Oh, Gods. He really did know.
Well, this day was just getting better and better, wasn't it? First, he was having an oh-so-friendly chat with his cousin and now he has to deal with his mentor. This was Loki's doing. He just knew it. Sighing, he figured he might as well just get it over and done with. He wasn't sure why, but when he walked inside it felt so much hotter than it usually was. He brushed it off, knowing that there were more important things he had to deal with. For example, his mentor and Toothless were both giving him a 'explain yourself' look.
For some reason, he decided that this was probably a good time to play innocent...or ignorant.
"What's up with you two? You look like something is bugging you."
He had a feeling he had just made his day so much worse...if that was even possible.
"Hiccup, you're a bad liar and ya always 'ave been. Just tell me what's goin on. Is it Snotlout? He's always been buggin you, 'at idiot. I keep thinking he's up ta no good."
Hiccup bit his lip, thinking about what he should say. He knew that he should say something. He wasn't a coward, but he just didn't want to bother him or cause trouble. What would Spitelout say? He would probably just take Snotlout's side and then what?
"I didn't want to bother anyone, but I...it is. He never stopped beating me up. It's just an act and...I was late because he was-" Hiccup trailed off, muttering. Toothless growled, and looked like he wanted to go find Snotlout right then and there. Gobber would have probably done the same, had he not had any suspicions already. Retaliation would only make it worse. Telling Stoick was the only thing that he could do. He knew for a fact that Hiccup never would.
"Hiccup-" Gobber started, planning on trying his best to convince the lad to tell his father right after they treated his wounds. However, all of that came to a screeching halt when Hiccup's legs finally gave in and collapsed. Toothless rushed forward to support his friend, followed by Gobber, who helped sit him down against the wall.
Gobber seen it was coming, but had hoped that he'd be able to get Hiccup back home before it did. Now that he was closer, he noticed how warm he was. He wasn't sure if he had a fever before or after his "altercation" with Snotlout, but it sure didn't do him any favors.
"All right, lad. Let's see if we can get you home so Gothi can get a good look at you."
" But, I have to work today! What about the saddles and I have that invention I was-" Hiccup tried.
"Absolutely not." Gobber said, pushing him gently out the door with Toothless. "You are going home and I will have Toothless sit on you if need be. Right, Toothless?"
Toothless grumbled affirmatively and pulled him gently out the door, making sure that he had support if he needed it. Hiccup sighed and acquiesced as he was now being forced out of the way.
"Alright, I'm going. But, will you come and get me if you need anything else?"
"Yes, yes. Get going already." Gobber lied. As if he would let him come back when he was wounded and sick. Until he had things handled with Snotlout, Hiccup was going nowhere.
Knowing that Stoick was doing his rounds in the village made finding him relatively easy. Telling him about what was going on and mentioning the reasons why he didn't know until now was another story altogether. He had to make sure that this didn't become a village rumor or something to use against Hiccup once he became Chief. Stoick would want to make it public, but Hiccup didn't want trouble. Sometimes those two were as different as two people could possibly be.
He wasn't sure how, but Stoick had done it so descreetly, but he supposed it wasn't exactly his business to know. He figured that as long as it was handled without there being some big meeting about it and without Hiccup knowing about it, all was well that ended well. He didn't need to know the exact details, but he just hoped everything turned out okay. Hiccup wasn't the type that took well with people interfering in his affairs.
Hiccup was bored. B-O-R-E-D. Bored. He knew something was going on between his Dad and Spitelout; He soon came to realize that the timing was too well-timed and convenient for it to be a mere coincidence. If it had been a council meeting, it would've been at the Great Hall. No, this had Gobber written ALL OVER it. At first, he was quite angry at him for interfering like this, but if it meant that he didn't have to; there was nothing wrong with that, right? One less problem for him to deal with. He only had to deal with Toothless and Astrid. She knew already, although he had done his best to hide it from her. She always had told him how much of a bad liar he was. Toothless wasn't letting him go anywhere, per Gobber's instructions.
Toothless and Gobber had finally decided to let him come back to work as he just needed some kind of sense of normalcy at that point. It had been a little over a week and Stoick had more or less kicked him out anyways, convinced that the pacing alone meant he was well enough to go bother Gobber for a change. Hiccup had a feeling that this trip would be relatively different and he was right...in so many ways.
Snotlout didn't even bother trying to hide his approach this time around, which made Hiccup slightly wary. He knew that his father had probably been talking to him during his recuperation, but he wasn't going to let down his guard. Snotlout marched up to him in an eerily good mood, which normally would have made him nervous if he didn't see how uncomfortable his cousin seemed. That, more than anything else, made him relax a bit. If he was feeling uncomfortable, that meant he was here to do one thing and one thing only: apologize.
"Snotlout?"
"I'm here to...to say you don't completely suck and all. So, yeah...whatever. Go to work already." he spit out, stuttering.
"Uh, yeah. I'm just going to go...now." Hiccup muttered; turning around to go, before almost running right into Astrid. "And it just gets better and better."
"Something you wanted to tell me?!" Astrid practically yelled. She was going to soon be loud enough for everyone in the entire village to hear, for sure. He wasn't sure he really cared anymore, though.
"Not really! But since you asked, things are fixed." Hiccup said, taking off before anyone got another word in.
His life was something he couldn't fix, but that design for that new invention on the other hand? That, he could definitely fix.
A/N: O_O Wow. That turned out A LOT longer than I thought it would. Granted, I could have made it longer by a long shot, but I chose to just end it here. I'm not sure if I particularly like the ending. I might actually go back and redo it or something. -_-
