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He didn't notice at first; his adrenaline took over as he fought off each hunter. He didn't realize when the hunter he had his back turned to managed to cut him, leaving an open gash on his back.
It was only after the battle, while flying back to the edge, that he felt it: a sting that hurt like never before, with blood dripping down his back.
He hoped it wasn't visible enough for anyone to notice; he prayed his vest and his long hair would hide it until they returned and he could rush to his hut to tend to it himself.
Not that he didn't want help—he just didn't feel deserving of it. Besides, he was the funny one; he's not supposed to be in pain or upset, he's supposed to be funny.
He didn't want to be a burden to anyone, everyone else was more important than him. He could take care of himself, he's done it before. He was just happy the others didn't get hurt, especially Ruff. He always saw her as the better twin, even if he wouldn't admit it to her.
She's more important to the team than he is, she does most of the work, and they don't need him, they just keep him around because he's funny, and Ruffnut would kill them if they threw him off the team.
He didn't want to feel this way, but he had no control over his thoughts, deep down he knew his friends must love him for more than being funny, but he couldn't get his mind to comprehend the thought of them caring for him.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when a group of dragons flew toward them, forcing them to move quickly. "Everyone down until they pass!” Hiccup yelled, and everyone dove down closer to the water until the flock of dragons had flown past.
Unfortunately for Tuff, the sudden movement caused his injury to burn in pain, and he couldn't hold back his scream fast enough. "Tuff?” Ruffnut said, surprised. Tuffnut looks perfectly fine, so why did he scream like he's just been stabbed?
All eyes were fixed on him, waiting for an answer. “S-sorry, dragons scared me,” Tuffnut lied, looking down to avoid eye contact.
"Right, except you usually love sudden dragon flocks coming right for us,” Hiccup said, eyebrow raised. "You also never admit when you're scared,” Ruffnut added, glaring at her brother.
"Where are you hurt, Tuff?” Fishlegs asked, knowing what that scream meant. He knew not all of them would get away uninjured. "Hurt? I'm not hurt!” Tuffnut tried, but it was becoming harder to lie as they flew home; the movement from flying irritated his injury.
"You sure? Because the cut on the back of your vest says otherwise!” Snotlout yelled, catching up to the group; he'd been flying a bit behind. Tuffnut mentally scolded himself for thinking he could hide that.
“Oh right, been meaning to sew that up, never had the time, you know, with all our pranking and exploding things and setting stuff on fire, I can get pretty busy,” he lied, trying to play it off, but Ruffnut raised her eyebrow at him, knowing she was onto him.
"Okay, well, that scream was pretty loud; we all heard it,” Astrid said, flying beside the twins, inspecting the cut on Tuffnut's vest, with Ruffnut doing the same from the other side.
Tuffnut was ready to give up; the pain left him feeling lightheaded—or was that from blood loss? He wasn’t sure, but he couldn't think of any more lies. "Is that blood?” Ruffnut asked, getting closer to examine him.
"Alright, we're landing, and Fishlegs is checking you over, Tuff," Hiccup ordered. Tuffnut sighed in defeat as the others searched for an island to land on. All he could do was focus on his breathing and not passing out.
"There! Looks like a good island for a quick stop,” Fishlegs pointed to a small island covered with green grass and flowers, with nothing seemingly dangerous in sight.
"Great job, Fishlegs! We’ll land there,” Hiccup instructed, leading the group as they landed, Ruffnut being extra careful as the movement caused Tuffnut to flinch.
Hiccup walked over to Tuffnut and helped him slowly get off Belch, letting Tuff hold his hand as he stepped onto the ground.
With each movement, he rasped. The cut on his back hurt badly, and he was almost happy everyone had noticed.
“Easy, I know,” Hiccup tried to comfort when he saw the pain on Tuffnut's face, everyone slowly moved closer as Fishlegs brought his medical supplies to Tuff.
“Alright, let's see it,” Fishlegs said, “See what? I don't see anything but grass and flowers here, it's actually pretty nice,” Tuffnut joked, rethinking whether he really wanted to let anyone help, but it was too late now.
“Take the vest off, Tuff,” Ruffnut sounded angrier than earlier, she was losing patience with him, and he knew it.
“Come on Tuff, just let us help you,” Hiccup tried to be as gentle as he could; Tuffnut sighed and took his vest off, letting it fall to the floor as he turned to show everyone his back.
Gasps were heard from the group as they began to panic, and only then did Tuffnut really start to regret his choices.
“Tuffnut! How did you think you were gonna hide this from us? From me? What were you just gonna let it get infected? Try to fix it yourself?” Ruffnut yelled at her brother; she was furious.
Tuffnut tried to hold back tears, he was lightheaded, in pain, and he really didn't want to have this talk right now. “I…I don't know... I'm supposed to be the funny one, I didn't want you guys to worry about me,” was all he could manage to respond with, and he hated how his voice broke and betrayed him.
Ruffnut sighed then pulled her brother in for a hug. “Your not just here to be funny, you're important to us, bro,” she said as Tuffnut returned the hug, letting some of his tears fall.
“Tuff, you don't think that's all you're here for, do you?” Hiccup asked worriedly, Ruffnut pulled back from the hug.
Tuffnut looked down, he couldn't make eye contact, he couldn't talk, he couldn't move, he hated this, but it also felt a bit nice to let some things out.
“You play a bigger role in our team and in this group than just being the funny one, like Ruffnut said, you're important to us,” Hiccup cupped Tuffnuts cheek with his hand, lifting his head to make eye contact. That's when Tuffnut couldn't hold back his sobs.
Ruffnut let go as Tuffnut fell into Hiccups' arms, and he held him tight as he cried, the rest of the gang joined in the hug, whispering reassurances to him.
They all let go eventually, realizing Tuffnut was still in fact bleeding and injured. “From now on, you tell us when you're hurt or need any kind of help, understood?” Hiccup put a hand on his shoulder; he was being firm but gentle. He sounded like his father, but he chose to ignore it.
“No more secrets, you tell one of us if not all of us,” Astrid said, backing up Hiccup. Tuffnut nodded; he couldn't manage to talk right now.
Everyone stepped back so Fishlegs could look him over, figure out how deep the gash was. Hiccup and Ruffnut stood by his side until Fishlegs finished examining him.
“Good news is the cut isn't bone deep, bad news is he's bleeding pretty badly, and he'll still need stitches,” Fishlegs reported. “Okay, can it wait until we get back, or does it need to be done now?” Hiccup asked.
“I can bandage it up tight enough to give us enough time to get to the edge, but he’ll need to ride with someone,” Fishlegs said.
“He can ride with me. Ruffnut can go with Astrid. It’s safer to stitch him up at home than here,” Hiccup ordered, and everyone agreed.
Tuffnut tried to listen to what they were saying, but everything was spinning around him; he felt like he was going to pass out.
He lost his balance, but Hiccup and Ruffnut caught him before he could fall. “Tuff!” Ruffnut screamed. “Tuffnut, what's wrong?” Hiccup asked, holding him up by one arm.
“Dizzy,” was all he could say, but it was all they needed to hear. Everyone rushed into action. Hiccup took off Tuffnut's helmet and then sat on the floor, guiding Tuffnut to sit with him, having Tuff lean on him, his head resting on Hiccup's shoulder as Hiccup held him.
Ruffnut kept him awake by talking to him as Fishlegs prepared his supplies to bandage him up; Snotlout went off to find some fresh water and Astrid stood on the other side of him, playing with his hair to keep him calm.
“I'll need to lift his tunic to bandage him,” Fishlegs informed Hiccup, who nodded. “Tuff, can we take off your belt and lift your tunic?” Hiccup asked; Tuffnut nodded.
Hiccup took off his belt for him as Fishlegs lifted his tunic, bandaging him up as soon as it was lifted. Snotlout landed and hurried over with fresh water from a nearby stream on the island.
He handed it to Tuffnut, who took it immediately and started chugging. “Wow, no thank you or anything, how ungrateful,” Snotlout joked.
“I'm literally dying,” Tuffnut replied. Everyone laughed, it felt nice to make everyone laugh again, even if he was bawling his eyes out two minutes ago.
“You're not dying, Tuff,” Hiccup said. “You just need some stitches and some rest.” “It feels like I am,” Tuffnut mumbled.
“We’ll talk about this more on the edge. Let’s get you home; the sun is about to set,” Hiccup said, looking at the orange and pink sky, the sun setting as the moon was about to rise.
It wasn’t safe for them to stay there any longer, and they could help Tuffnut better back at home anyway. He wasn't going to let Tuffnut off easy, nor was Ruffnut.
He would let Tuffnut rest his head in his lap while Fishlegs stitched him up, and then he’d make Tuffnut talk about how he feels. For now, though, he’d let Tuffnut fly with him on the way home, being as careful as he could not to cause him more pain.
“We’re talking about this when we get home,” Ruffnut said sharply. “Yes, we are,” Hiccup replied. Tuffnut groaned.
They got on their dragons, Hiccup carefully helping Tuffnut onto Toothless. Tuffnut finally felt deserving enough to be helped; he didn't feel like a burden anymore, he felt loved.