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People are laughing.
People are laughing, and Tuffnut feels like crying.
It’s stupid. It’s stupid . Tuffnut shouldn’t be so sensitive to things like this, to jokes , but here he is, in the middle of the air, straightening his face as Astrid throws her head back and cackles. He knows it’s pathetic, he knows he needs to just lighten up– or at least that’s what Snotlout keeps telling him– but he can’t .
Several minutes pass, and Tuffnut says quietly, “I’m not as stupid as you think I am.”
“What?” Astrid says, and Hiccup’s brow creases as he looks over his shoulder. “Tuffnut, we don’t think you’re stupid–”
“Astrid said,” Tuffnut argues, “that I wouldn’t understand her being mean to me because I’m stupid, but I’m not stupid . I know when you’re making fun of me. I always know.”
Astrid stares for a moment, along with the others, of course, but Tuffnut’s looking at her. Her hair blows in the wind, her bangs sweeping to the right, and she opens her mouth, but Ruffnut mutters, “Don’t,” and Astrid turns away and flies closer to Hiccup.
They don’t talk about it again.