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She thinks it up after hearing the latest hot topic amongst the village women. Her generation is starting to reach that age where marriage is part of the conversation and boy oh boy do viking women love to talk about marriage. Loudly. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Ruffnut begins thinking about it, too. What are her options, how much time till she's expected to choose, what if she's married to some stranger from a faraway land, what if she's forced to leave her brother behind ?
It's too much to leave up to fate or the whims of her parents. She has no choice but to take matters into her own hands or risk suffering a miserable existence with some mystery man. After hours of debate and going over all her options (few as they may be), she settles on Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. He's a walking disaster, prone to chaos, and on the skinny side but he's interesting and always manages to treat her and Tuffnut like two separate people without dishonoring their twin bond. The last bit is the most important.
The plan is simple: create a good enough relationship with Hiccup that their parents will set up a marriage contract. Should be easy enough considering most of the village is under the impression that neither of them will ever catch the attention of anyone for marriage (thank you, Phlegma, for that tidbit), so their parents should jump on the opportunity to set them up as soon as possible.
Phase one: get on Hiccup's good side. Ruffnut starts with casual trips to the forge to get the occasional weapon (conveniently stolen from Snotlout and/or her idiot brother) sharpened by the blacksmith's apprentice. She makes a point to greet him by name and look him in the eye with a sweet grin. Well, it takes her awhile to nail down the "sweet" part but within a couple weeks Hiccup stops looking so much like a small frightened animal when she smiles at him.
Sometimes she brings food with her as she drops off or picks up the latest stolen weapon and sometimes she'll tear off a chunk of bread and nonchalantly share it with her target. It's not long before the routine is set. Ruffnut becomes a regular visitor to the forge and Hiccup grows less suspicious of the food yet more suspicious of the errant nut paying him visits.
Phase two: marriage. This was supposed to be the easy part. Unfortunately, Stoick took off with half the village just as Hiccup and Ruffnut's routine settled into place, so there was no one to see them getting along and no one to jump on the chance to write up a contract. By the time anyone might have noticed, Hiccup was a champion in dragon training. Suddenly, she wasn't the only one trying to get the chief's son's attention and all the effort she'd put in was brushed aside as her just being another of his fans. Ruffnut was pissed.
But not as pissed as she would be weeks after the Red Death and Hiccup's rise as a hero when she noticed Astrid taking a serious interest in Hiccup. Considering the girl’s relatively passive feelings towards the boy mere weeks ago, Ruffnut was surprised to have Astrid as an obstacle to her goal. Despite all the changes, Ruffnut had no intentions of changing her own plans and her visits with Hiccup persisted as well as they could with Astrid also visiting and everyone else needing dragon advice from the local dragon conqueror.
When Astrid joined the pursuit, Ruffnut stepped up her game. It wasn't enough to be friends with Hiccup, she had to be his girlfriend - better yet, she had to be his wife . This lead to a very confusing month on Hiccup's part. While Astrid stuck to being nice and flirty , Ruffnut took it upon herself to act as Hiccup's wife in every way she could think of without completely violating her future husband.
Nearly every day at lunch Ruffnut would hunt (there were a few days in a row he tried to hide) Hiccup down so they could eat together. She learned to sew properly - not just half-assed- and took it upon herself to fix his clothes whenever possible which mainly involved her stealing his clothes when she noticed tears. Most of all, Hiccup would never forget those first terrifying nights that Ruffnut snuck into his room after dark and crawled into bed beside him, snickering when he yelped and dropped off the side of the bed from fright. Everytime he attempted escape, Ruffnut would either wrap herself tight on his arm to keep him in place or follow him wherever he tried to sleep.
"Why are you doing this," Hiccup asked, miserably, one night. Ruffnut saw no reason to lie. The truth might persuade him to her side while a lie would take effort to keep up. She had enough to deal with just to win Hiccup's affections and get Astrid to back off.
"I'm going to marry you."
That doesn't clear things up for him. If anything, he's more confused than before but he figures maybe it's just a phase and he can bare through it until Ruffnut gets bored. Except she doesn't get bored. Her late night visits keep up, he has to make awkward conversation with her at every lunch, and for some odd reason his clothes keep vanishing just to appear a day or two later with patches.
More complications arise when Heather washes up on Berk's shore and worms her way closer and closer to Hiccup. Now Ruffnut AND Astrid are pissed and Hiccup's stuck dealing with both girls moods through the duration of Heather's stay. Heather's departure grants Hiccup a couple days rest as the remaining girls' relief distracts them from their initial goals. It's short lived, though, after Astrid sees Ruffnut waltz into the forge, two bundles of food in hand and a triumphant smirk over her shoulder at her rival.
Just like that, the game is back on.
And that's all it is in the early months: a game. Ruffnut's playing for a decent marriage, Astrid's playing to get Ruffnut away from her crush, and Hiccup's tolerating it all with the hope that Astrid might win and Ruffnut will stop creeping into his room. And the rest of the village thinks it's hilarious. It's the new gossip in town with people placing their bets on who will win and when fights aren't breaking out over trade debates or land disagreements, they're breaking out over which couple would be best and how the game will end.
The game would have gotten dull months earlier if not for the players changing goals. It was such a subtle change that the players themselves hardly noticed but the village did and now the game was that much more worth investing into.
Soft and quiet became words that could be associated with Ruffnut. She was hardly soft and quiet but sometimes when she watched Hiccup in the forge or playing with dragons her whole demeanor would quiet and she'd get the softest smile on her face.
Hiccup went from passively playing the game to unwittingly choosing a side. If Ruffnut didn't find him for lunch, he found himself wandering around until he found her and the conversations during those meals became less awkward, more fluent. When a new idea buzzed in his mind, Ruffnut was the first to be subjected to his speeding ramblings and every fine detail he'd already thought up. And then the change only Stoick knew about by the way a candle would stay lit in Hiccup's loft until the creak of footsteps made their way from the window to his bed long after dark and the nights when hushed voices whispered in the air about the hours in the day they hadn't spent together or the latest way brother and sister managed to ruin Snotlout's day.
Last to change was Astrid who had started the game with a fierce determination that slowly faded as she watched Hiccup's attention shift further away from herself. She still played for the principle of it - she couldn't just let Ruffnut have the victory. No, as far as everyone was concerned Astrid was still very much a player until the contract for marriage was final.
They played on with their new goals yet to them the game stayed the same. Ruffnut still pushed any and every boundary, Hiccup was still exasperated by her antics, and Astrid still did what she could to deter Ruffnut.
Everything was fine, the game was fine, until the day Ruffnut realized Hiccup might actually become chief and that would make her the chieftess and that meant responsibility that she was absolutely not prepared for. Until that moment she was working with the assumption that Snotlout would take over and Astrid would be his wife and actually run the village while he played the stereotypical viking part. But now Hiccup was a hero showing promising leadership and management skills on top of the chiefdom being his birthright which meant Stoick would make him chief and she'd be chieftess if she married him.
It was almost enough to make her back out.
But Ruffnut Thorston doesn't quit (accept on certain occasions that are definitely her twin quitting, not her, she's just loyal to her twin so shutup Fishlegs).
A new component to the game, something to bolster her chances at this marriage deal, a way to win over the village, not just Hiccup and their parents. A chieftess needed to support her chief in his duties and to do that she needed to understand the tribe on an intimate level. Using Loki and chaos as a cover, Ruffnut began investing free time into learning about the Hairy Hooligan tribe. She slipped into their everyday lives to learn about the social circles, which families were in charge of which trades, what's the latest gossip (not including her love life, for Thor's sake please stop asking), who's getting old and who's popping out little vikings. If it could be used to help Hiccup later, Ruffnut logged it into her brain.
Moving to Dragon's Edge brought a new dynamic to their routine. Ruffnut didn’t hesitate to take up residence in Hiccup’s hut despite the spot she also made for herself in Tuffnut’s hut. Having a bed and room with Tuffnut was a formality, an obligation for their twin-ness and a way to pacify anyone back home that didn’t approve of her actually living with Hiccup without them being married (not that she cared, but a chieftess should care). In response, Hiccup half heartedly rolled his eyes having expected it from her and made room for her stuff. And if anyone asked, he didn’t make a bigger bed to accommodate Ruffnut, he made it because sometimes Toothless liked to cram himself onto the bed for cuddles. That’s it.
On Berk, the riders had become accustomed to the game the way it started - as far as they were concerned, it was the same game now as it had been years ago. It wasn’t until Heather began asking questions that they began realizing how much had changed.
“I’m surprised her plan worked,” Heather said to Astrid while they trained. Astrid guffawed as she threw her axe straight to the center of the target. She turned to Heather, laughter still in her voice as she said, “worked? Not at all; they’re still not married and they’re not even dating. For as hard as Ruffnut’s tried, Hiccup barely tolerates her”
Heather didn’t believe it for a second. Back when she first met them yeah Ruffnut pushed too hard and Hiccup was clearly uncomfortable with her. But now? Night and day. Maybe they weren’t all over each other like some couples, but they had clearly fallen for each other. She could see it in all the little, almost unnoticeable, things they did to take care of one another every day - the concerned looks after a battle, the meals shared when Hiccup stayed up too late working, that gentle yet sturdy arm to support Ruffnut in a moment of doubt, the small tasks Ruffnut took care of so Hiccup wouldn’t have to, and, of course, the way they so easily lived together.
They should be married and Heather realizes the only reason they aren't is because the riders are in some sort of denial about the whole situation.
So Heather enters the game.
She starts with the other riders, dropping hints and asking questions until she sees the realization on their faces that the game has changed. When they've been enlightened, she attempts to drag them to her side of the game, the side that's actively trying to get Hiccup and Ruffnut together. Tuffnut is the easiest to get - he'd been privy to Ruffnut's plan since basically the beginning. Fishlegs is next to give in but Snotlout and Astrid are reluctant to play an active part after all these years. Snotlout isn't about to get caught up in any plans the twins make and Astrid still can't bring herself to officially change sides.
But that's fine. Heather let's it go after a day spent with the twins and Throk, watching Throk fawn over Ruffnut and Ruffnut taking it with glee and that's all she needs to start hatching a plan. It's easy to convince Mala's right-hand man to pursue his affections for the female Thorston and even easier to get him to sail to Dragon's Edge to better court her.
Yeah, maybe it's cruel to set him up for failure (there's no way Throk isn't leaving the island with a broken heart). But you know what's more cruel? Making Heather watch Hiccup dance around Ruffnut's obvious affection and defy every clever plan she's come up with at this point to get the two together. Plus Snotlout and Fishlegs wussed out when she told them to flirt with Ruffnut and Heather flirting with the blonde didn't register as a threat to anyone. Okay, that's a lie. Ruffnut was surprised in a way that set off Hiccup's protective instincts so Hiccup spent a solid few days distracting Heather from Ruffnut. Admittedly, it was funny to watch, but it didn't achieve the goal Heather was aiming for.
So she throws Throk into the game.
It isn't until Throk enters the picture that things really change. Up to this point it's been Ruffnut and Astrid fighting for Hiccup's attention and Hiccup somewhat begrudgingly accepting it. But now there's Throk. And he doesn't just try to get Ruffnut's attention, he skips straight to grand gestures of love and devotion, the kind of gestures that instantly draw Ruffnut away from Hiccup.
And it irks Hiccup.
He knows he has no right to claim her as his own or be *shudder* jealous of his newfound rival, but all he wants to do is grab Ruffnut and hide away in their hut. Well, his hut. Because technically it's his and not theirs even if they've basically shared a living space since before moving to Dragon's Edge. The point is that he can't stand to see Throk hanging around his not-girlfriend but he can't quite justify the anger boiling in his gut at the sight of the two together.
Hiccup especially can't deal with the new thoughts invading his head of all the things he wants to do with Ruffnut. Romantic, couple-y things. For all that Hiccup is a teenage male that's been intimately sharing his space with a teenage girl, the thought never truly crossed his mind to make advances on Ruffnut. Because cuddling and kissing and hand holding have never been defining aspects in their relationship. Ruffnut skipped straight past those in favor of actions that make them look more like a married couple and less like a passing crush.
The final straw is Throk going in for a kiss. Not on the lips, just a peck on Ruff's cheek, but before it can happen Hiccup's fist is in Throk's face and the man is on the floor blinking up at the one legged teen while holding his quickly forming bruise.
Silence reigns down on the group.
No one can decide if they should cheer because Hiccup finally made a move or if they should tend to Throk or if they should separate the two before an actual fight breaks out.
Hiccup is frozen. No words can describe the anger coursing through him, the shaking of his fists, the pounding of his heart, the selfish bit of relief that uncoils when Ruffnut doesn't rush to Throks side. His fingers twitch like they finally want to give in, grab Ruffnut, and run off. Instead, he takes a deep breath and marches out the door on his own.
He ends up in the woods pacing back and forth in a clearing, running his hands restlessly through his hair, then throwing them away like he's trying to physically expel the anger from his body. Coherent thought doesn't make its way to his brain because all he can see is Throk and Ruffnut, lips interlocked and limbs intertwined and for the first time in his life Hiccup wants to do the viking thing and start swinging an axe at everything in sight because it almost actually happened - he's on the brink of losing someone he didn't even realize he wanted.
Astrid finds him much later, after his knuckles are red and bleeding from finally giving into the urge to punch something. Hiccup is slumped against one of the trees that was his victim, his elbows resting on his knees, head leaning back against bark, eyes closed as the blonde approaches.
She doesn't say anything yet, just stops for a moment to take in his exhausted form. Eventually Astrid sits next to him and sinks slightly into his side, head on his shoulder. In that moment Hiccup realizes the butterflies are gone. That fluttering feeling he used to get when Astrid just looked his way is nonexistent as she invades his space and his heart breaks at that. How could he have missed that? For years he had lived for that feeling because it meant Astrid Hofferson - the Astrid Hofferson, his crush - was paying attention to him and now it was gone. And for how long had it been gone?
How long had his heart belonged to Ruffnut?
The birds chirp above them as the golden light of the setting sun stretches across the clearing.
"I wanted it to be you."
Hiccup finally breaks their silence.
"Me too."
Astrid doesn't look at Hiccup and he doesn't look at her. There are a thousand more things they want to say while they have this time, a thousand ways they want to save a relationship that never really was. But they won't. Because Hiccup knows now what his heart wants and he can't play this game anymore, not if it means some guy might swoop in and claim Ruffnut as his own.
Minutes pass and Hiccup heaves a sigh that holds such finality to it that Astrid has to resist flinching. This is it. She'd given up winning long ago, but the loss still makes her chest tight as her friend gives her a parting kiss on the crown of her head and lifts himself off the ground. He doesn't need to look back to know she'll be staying in that clearing awhile longer.
Growling catches Hiccup's attention as he nears his hut. There sits Toothless guarding the main entrance, glaring at a distressed Throk that seems to be debating if he wants to try his luck getting through a window with an angry nightfury watching his every move. As he eyes a rather high window, he sees Hiccup coming up the stairs to his hut. It's strange to see Throk look unsure and sheepish when they've grown used to his warrior confidence and bold devotion to Ruffnut. But that's what he sinks into when he meets Hiccup's eye.
"My sincerest apologies, Hiccup Haddock. I did not mean to overstep in my stay here - I thought my intentions for the lovely Ruffnut were clear. Had I kno-"
"No!" Hiccup rushes closer to Throk, arms waving in a calming gesture. "No, Throk, this isn't your fault! This one's on me." He takes a step back, shoulders hunched and hand rubbing the back of his neck. His eyes struggle to meet Throk's as he admits, "I didn't make my own intentions clear - Hel, I didn't even know what they were until after you got here."
Throk studies Hiccup. "Am I correct to assume you are in love with her?"
"I'm not sure I would say love , yet," Hiccup chuckles, "but I'm certainly around there." He shuffles in place before finally getting up the nerve to look Throk in the eye. For the first time in their interaction Hiccup sees the bruise that's formed on the other man's face and it makes him want to look away in shame. "Look, I'm sorry about my reaction earlier, about punching you. I had no right to treat you like that no matter what my feelings were."
Throk gives him a smile. It doesn't quite reach his eyes where there's a clear pain brewing, so similar to what Hiccup would have seen in Astrid's eyes if he'd turned back instead of walking away. But like Astrid there's an acceptance there. Maybe Throk can see in Hiccup what Hiccup is just coming to terms with. Maybe it's the fact that Ruffnut has refused to see him since the scene in the clubhouse and ran at the first available moment. Either way Throk knows he isn't going to win this game.
"I believe I should take my leave now," Throk says, making his way to the stairs. "It was good to see you and the other riders, Hiccup Haddock."
"And you, Throk." Hiccup smiles at him, a genuine smile because it really is nice when their allies and friends take time to visit. "I'm sure we'll see you and the Defenders soon, what with the way Krogan and Viggo have been lately."
Throk pauses on the stairs and Hiccup swears he catches a smirk as the man looks at him over his shoulder. "Or a wedding, perhaps?" Hiccup flushes, but any denial dies on his lips because isn't that what happens next? Haven't the last few years all been leading up to him and Ruffnut officially, legally , becoming a pair for the rest of their lives? He doesn't really know yet, can't say if that will happen anytime soon or if it's still a long ways down the road, but it rings true down to his bones. Hiccup Haddock will marry Ruffnut Thorston.
By the time that thought cements itself into Hiccup's being, Throk is halfway to the docks and Toothless is nudging into his rider's side, concerned croon aimed at the young man's roughened knuckles. Hiccup rests a hand on Toothless' smooth scales, focusing on that pebbled feeling as he takes in some much needed deep breaths and readies his nerves for his next confrontation. He needs to be ready. Ruffnut has every right to unleash her fury onto him, to scream and yell and hit because in the end he is in the wrong right now.
When he gets upstairs, he expects to see Ruffnut in their bed. The last rays of sun are all that illuminate the loft from the far window. A candle sits on a nightstand, long cold and lonely in the empty room. Toothless doesn't look surprised at having guarded a vacant hut the last few hours, so Ruffnut likely started there and climbed out the open window, the dragon keeping his position to elude Throk.
With a sigh, Hiccup goes about cleaning his knuckles and wrapping them up. He considers hunting down Ruffnut so they can get this over with, like ripping off a bandage. But she'd still be here, though, wouldn't she? If she wanted that? There's no doubt in his mind that she's with her twin and they're hashing out their feelings and plans based on those feelings. Hiccup could go there now to fix things or he could just make it worse by going to them. He groans as he sinks into bed, electing to stay put instead of tempting the gods and risking Ruffnut hating him more than she already might.
Toothless lays his head on Hiccup's chest in sympathy, rumbling comforting dragon words to his rider. Hiccup gives him a wry smile. "You'll keep them from killing me, right?" At least he'll have his dragon by his side if the twins turn against him. Toothless huffs in his face and trots to his rock slab, warming it before settling down for the night. So maybe Hiccup won't have the unholy offspring of lightning and death on his side on this matter. Didn't want your help anyway he thinks as his eyelids grow heavy and the weight of the day's events finally put him to sleep.
He wakes up to movement in the bed, a slim form slipping under the covers next to him. His brain is muddled by sleep and he'll use that for an excuse to explain why he turns over, wraps his arms around Ruffnut's waist, and pulls her into his chest, something he'd never consciously done before. She must think he's asleep. Her body is lax and she easily curls into him as if she's done it a thousand times. Hiccup thinks of all the mornings he's woken up like this, Ruffnut wrapped up in him and maybe she has done this a thousand times.
They could stay like this. Throk would be long gone by morning and they could wake up, pretend like nothing ever happened, pretend their game is still intact and Hiccup would just move it forward subtly. Work in some hand holding here, a few kisses there, a proposal under the moonlight and surrounded but fireflies as their dragons prance in the meadow.
"I'm sorry."
He tightens his hold as he whispers those words. She's invested years into this and the thought of making her wait years more is just as heartbreaking as the thought of her leaving with Throk. This needs to be done right.
"Can we try this again?" Ruffnut's breath hitches, her muscles bunching up beneath his hands. Hiccup pulls away enough to lift her face up, his own ducking down enough to meet her weary eyes. "Will you give me another chance?"
"Are you going to punch everyone that tries to kiss me?" Her voice is rough, almost watery, and Hiccup worries over his answer because she sounds like she might cry and oh, gods, what if he makes her cry? But there's this spark in her eye that he recognizes from years of watching her pull pranks and he's comforted by the knowledge that she's not asking as a way to reprimand him.
"Well… I might send Toothless after them too." He seals the promise with a kiss of his own, feels the smile across her lips, relishes the way their bodies melt together and the feeling of right that sinks in next to the I'm marrying this girl in his bones.
Tomorrow they'll wake up and deal with the cheers of their friends and the "thank Thor it finally happened" from Heather when they walk into lunch hand-in-hand. By the end of the week Hiccup will make up his mind and decide marriage should come sooner rather than later and that contract Stoick wrote up with the Thorstons years ago will finally be signed. And in a few months, when the Defenders of the Wing arrive for the wedding, Hiccup will be met with Throk's "I told you so" grin, but it will be worth it when he's drinking and dancing the night away with his wife by his side.