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

Time for a Beard-Cut

Fishlegs refused to leave his house for two whole days after the incident. His parents had demanded an explanation, but really, there wasn't much of one. It had taken a few hours, but Fishlegs managed to convince his parents that he had not gone mad.

The husky boy eventually gathered enough courage to venture outside. He kept his head down and strode briskly for the Great Hall, where he knew his friends were eating breakfast. Fishlegs cautiously opened the large wooden doors and was relieved to see that most of the Vikings had already finished eating. The only ones left were his friends.

Who promptly burst into laughter upon seeing him.

"It's not funny!" Fishlegs snapped, his face flushing red. "My parents thought I'd lost my mind."

"I'd think that too." Astrid giggled and moved over so that Fishlegs could have a seat. "I'm sorry, but that had to have been the funniest thing I have ever seen."

"So far." Snotlout added. "There are plenty more dare opportunities left."

"Joy." Fishlegs mumbled.

"That means..."Snotlout urged. "You have to deliver a dare to someone."

"Alright." Fishlegs eyed Ruffnut, who arched a challenging eyebrow back. Hastily he turned to Hiccup. The lanky boy's fork hovered inches from his mouth.

"Shoot," he muttered. Sighing heavily he dropped the fork to his plate and stared at his friend. "Alright. What is it?"

"Er..."Fishlegs fumbled for a moment, trying to think of a dare that wasn't too mean or too lame. "I dare you to cut off your father's beard."

"Oh, man!" Tuffnut laughed and slapped Ruffnut in the shoulder. "Did you hear that?"

"That's a good one." Ruffnut said, impressed.

"It is not!" Hiccup protested. "My dad will kill me."

"Aw, come on. He's a Viking." Astrid waved a hand dismissively. "He'll grow it back in no time."

Hiccup glanced at Fishlegs wearily. "Do I have to cut it all off?"

Fishlegs took pity on his friend. "How about half? That way, it'll look even more ridiculous since the hair will be all choppy and uneven."

"Don't be a sissy!" Snotlout cried. "Make him shave it all off!"

Astrid shot a glare at the boy. "And how would your father take to have his beard shaved off?"

Snotlout paused and thought about the many possible reactions that would come from such an event. "Point taken. Alright, I guess it'll still be funny."

Hiccup rubbed his forehead. "So...can I do it tonight?"

"Sure thing." Fishlegs agreed. "But won't your dad know automatically that you did it?"

"I don't think so. Dad probably doesn't think I have the guts to do something like that." Hiccup shrugged. "So long as I don't get caught, I should be fine."

"I so hope you get caught." Snotlout grinned widely. "That would make my day."

"You're such a wonderful cousin." Hiccup quipped before getting to his feet. "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to need a pair of shears or something."

"Good luck," Astrid said as Hiccup departed. "I have a feeling you're going to need it."

...

Night fell far quicker than Hiccup would have liked. The auburn-haired boy slowly sat up in his bed and listened intently. He could hear his father's snoring coming from downstairs. Swallowing thickly, he stood up and grabbed a small pair of shears that he had hidden under his bed. Toothless blinked sleepily as Hiccup moved about, his prosthetic foot making a soft clink with every step.

"Go back to sleep, bud." Hiccup whispered as he approached the stairs. "I'm about to do something incredibly stupid."

Toothless eyed his human warily for a moment before deciding that he didn't want to know. He gave a soft warble before curling back up. Hiccup descended down the wooden stairs and crossed the main room, where his father's bedroom was located.

"Oh, why am I doing this?" Hiccup moaned and stood uncertainly in the doorframe. The rumbling snores shook his father's chest, and the ginger curls of his beard were splayed out in plain view. Hiccup took a deep breath and carefully walked into the room.

Here goes nothing.

Bit by bit, Hiccup removed the thick curls that made up Stoick's impressive beard. The pieces of hair tumbled down his massive chest and onto the wooden floor. Hiccup winced at the jagged edges he was creating, but he was in too much of a hurry to make it look all neat.

Hiccup pressed the shears together, ready to make the final cut. It was extremely annoying to find that the shears would not pull apart. They were stuck to Stoick's beard.

Fantastic.

Ginger, Hiccup jiggled the small shears in an attempt to pry them loose. It soon became apparent that the only way to free the shears was to remove it from the hair. And there was only way to do that.

Thor help me.

Gritting his teeth together, Hiccup pulled with all his might. A huge chunk of beard was torn from Stoick's face with a nasty rip. The tribe leader shot upwards with a bellow of pain and Hiccup dove underneath the bed before he was spotted. Trembling and heart pounding, Hiccup cowered under the bed and gripped the shears to his chest.

"ODIN'S GHOST!"

Noticing the curled pieces of red hair on the wooden floor, Stoick got to his feet and lumbered over reflective metal that hung on the wall beside the door. He stared in horror at the choppy bits of beard that still hung from his chin.

What was worse, however, was that half of his face didn't have any facial hair. The other side did.

Oaths and swears echoed through the Haddock household. Stoick stormed outside, believing that the culprit must have recently committed the crime and was intent on finding him (or her) and giving them a good thrashing.

Hiccup scrambled out from underneath Stoick's bed and removed the large piece of ginger hair from the shears and tossed it to the floor. He flew up the stairs to his room, flung the shears under his bed and cowered underneath his covers, his father's violent oaths echoing through his mind.

Dare suggested by Sweetea8 :)

Next chapter: In which Hiccup dares Ruffnut.