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It doesn’t start out badly.
The twins wanted Hiccup to look at a dragon they found to the north of the island, and before Hiccup knew it, he was trapped under three moderately–sized boulders.
“Oh my Gods,” Tuffnut gasps, scrambling to his feet, and Hiccup tries to wave his hand in dismissal, but finds himself unable to. “Tuff, it’s fine. Don’t panic.”
“Ruff, we’ve killed him. He’s dead.”
“Shut up,” Ruffnut scoffs, elbowing her brother, and narrows her eyes at Hiccup. “Are you good?”
“Yes,” Hiccup starts to say, but is interrupted by Tuffnut letting out a dramatic wail and collapsing onto one of the boulders.
“Tuff, he’s not dead. He’s fine. Worst that can happen is he’ll lose another limb–”
“Which I’d prefer not to do, actually,” interjects Hiccup before Tuffnut can panic more, “so can someone run back and get the others so we can get these boulders off me?”
Ruffnut sighs, dusting herself off. “Tuffnut, you go. And drink some water while you’re at it.”
Tuffnut cries out indignantly, a look of betrayal crossing his face. “As if I’d leave him. As if I’d abandon him in his time of need–”
“Oh my Thor, fine. I’ll go.” Ruffnut rolls her eyes, and Hiccup shoots her an awkward smile as she turns on her heel and walks away.
For a moment, it’s silent except for Tuffnut’s soft whimpering, and finally, Hiccup bites the arrow. “Tuff, are– are you okay?”
Tuffnut drops to his knees and crawls right next to Hiccup’s head, pressing their faces together. “You keep dying.”
“Okay,” Hiccup says, voice muffled by Tuffnut’s cheek. “Okay, but– you– you know I’m not actually dead, right?”
Tuffnut doesn’t answer, and so Hiccup quietly reiterates, “You know that, right?”
“One day you will, and I’m scared it will– I’m scared.”
Hiccup furrows his brow. “Tuff– you don’t have to be scared of me dying. It won’t be for a while yet.”
“We just crushed you under, like, three boulders,” Tuffnut whispers.
“But soon Ruffnut will get back with a dragon, and we’ll get them off me, and I’ll be fine. Okay? And we’ll have dinner in a couple of hours, and I’ll eat and sleep and we’ll both be alright. Promise.”
Tuffnut sniffs into Hiccup’s ear. “No. You do too much reckless shit to promise me that.”
Hiccup doesn’t know how to reply to that, so he just pats the ground next to him, and Tuffnut reluctantly shifts to lean against the boulder.
They sit in comfortable silence for a moment, and then Hiccup realises he might not be so fine after all.
“Tuff,” he says, voice tight, and Tuffnut turns his head. “Huh?”
“Um. I sort of– I kind of can’t breathe.”
Tuffnut blinks, and then he’s rushing around to Hiccup’s other side and frantically trying to push one of the boulders off him. Hiccup gasps in pain as the boulder lands right on his arm with a sickening crunch, and then everything goes dark.
Hiccup wakes to the sight of Tuffnut pacing anxiously around the Clubhouse firepit. He watches for a few seconds, and then says quietly, “Tuff?”
Tuffnut whips around, his face one of pure relief, and gasps, “Hiccup?”
“Um. Yeah,” Hiccup says. He inhales deeply, coughing slightly. “You got me out.”
“I didn’t,” Tuffnut murmurs sheepishly, shuffling his feet. “I, uh, just broke your arm. That’s all. Everyone else got you out.”
“Thanks,” mumbles Hiccup, noticing the cast on his arm with a small smile on his face. “I’m– well, thanks for trying anyway. Sorry to scare you. I didn’t realise I wasn’t going to be able to breathe, I would have said something sooner but it was just really sudden, and–”
“Hiccup, I’m scared that when you die it will be my fault,” Tuffnut blurts out, and Hiccup’s eyes widen. “Oh. Oh, Tuff, no–”
“We’re all so stupid,” he says, his voice shaking. “Snot and Ruff and I make way too many explosions, and you’re, like, actively suicidal, and there’s a war happening– something’s gonna take you out soon, and I’m so scared it will be my fault.”
Hiccup swallows. “Well, for starters, I’m definitely not actively suicidal.”
“Name one time when you haven’t been actively suicidal.”
Hiccup chooses to move on from this. “Secondly, you realise that rockslide wasn’t your fault, right? You just wanted to show me a dragon. Which, by the way, I would still love to see if you happen to find it again.”
“You’re not mad?” Tuffnut says, and Hiccup chuckles, shaking his head. “Tuff, no. Of course not. I wouldn’t blame you for something like that.”
Tuffnut looks away, and Hiccup closes his eyes briefly.
“Just be careful,” Tuffnut’s voice cuts in through the silence, and Hiccup nods. “I will.”
“Promise.”
“I promise.”
And, really, Hiccup makes an effort to preserve himself for a change.
He hates it, but Tuffnut seems very happy about it, so he keeps on.
It’s a small price to pay.