Righteous (A Modern HTTYD AU)

~7~

Hiccup stopped at the apartment door. Then he knocked. No response. He tapped his comm. "Fishlegs?" he asked. 

"Here, Night Fury. What's up?" 

"Are the twins back at base?" 

"Yeah. They're snickering in their car and I can hear it from here. Did something happen?" 

"I hope not," Hiccup muttered as he cautiously opened the door. He sprang back as several things attempted to hit him in the face, some of which he disintegrated before they hit him. "They booby trapped my apartment." He frowned as he heard Fishlegs laughing through the comm. 

"Good luck," the Gronckle said. "Have fun with that." Then the comm shut off and Hiccup let out a dissatisfied growl before poking his head into the now cleared doorway. He glanced around the room, singling out the rest of the twins' traps. He had a trained eye for it since they had done it so often back at base when they'd first banded together. The twins had stopped pranking Fishlegs and him since they could now avoid their traps. 

Hiccup stepped over several clear string trip-lines, wove his way through more traps that were set to drop upon someone touching the trigger, sprung the traps in his bedroom, and flopped onto his bed. Toothless crawled off his shoulder and onto the pillow, curling up with a happy mew. 

Hiccup was just about to doze off when the door suddenly swung open. He opened his eyes and turned over, peering through the door way as Astrid dropped her bag on the ground and rubbed her eyes, walking without a care towards her own room. He couldn't help an amused laugh as she triggered several of the traps on the ground, her eyes widening as she ducked, curling up to avoid many of the projectiles, some of which still hit her. 

"HICCUP!" His laughter stopped and he flattened himself on the bed, pretending to be asleep. Astrid stood up, brushing herself off, though one substance, Hiccup assumed it was silly string, stuck in her hair. "WHAT IN THOR'S NAME IS GOING ON?" 

He didn't respond, though Toothless meowed a warning out and he flipped over, crossing his arms in front of his face. "I'm innocent, I swear!" he shouted as Astrid stormed over to him. 

"Yeah, right," she said, grabbing his wrist in an iron grip and dragging him out of his bed. She hauled him across the room with ease and shoved him out into the main room where he triggered the rest of the traps. He stood there and sighed as he was battered with the ammo. "Well, that backfired, didn't it?" 

"It really wasn't me," he said, wiping a generous amount of silly string off his face. "A couple of my friends paid us a visit after I woke up this morning and, knowing them, they put this elaborate obstacle course together for us as soon as I left the room." 

"Why are you leaving your friends alone in our apartment? That's like leaving someone alone in your house, you dolt!" 

"They were my friends! I thought I could trust them!" He slapped a hand over his heart. "I have been deceived." 

"Alright," Astrid said, waving it off. "Stop being dramatic and help me clean this up before you shower." 

~

The next day, after Astrid had gone to work, Hiccup returned to the subway tunnels, holding a handful of the strings they'd used to set up the traps in his room. Fishlegs gave him a greeting, which he ignored, as he stomped to the twins' car. 

"Ruffnut! Tuffnut!" he shouted. 

"Uh oh," he heard Tuffnut say. 

"Quick! Hide the evidence!" Ruffnut whispered. 

"I CAN HEAR YOU!" Hiccup bellowed. He forced the car door open, sending Ruffnut flying to the side and into the wall as she'd been trying to hold it shut. The Night Fury threw the string onto the floor, glowering at the twins. "I told you not to touch anything!" 

"Technically, we didn't," Tuffnut said, lifting his hand. The string floated off the floor and settled on the desk. "You forget, Hiccy." 

"Don't call me Hiccy, and you know what I meant." 

"You really should be more specific," Ruffnut said, rubbing her head as she stood back up. "Though the real topic of this conversation should be: did we get your roommate?" 

"Unfortunately, yes," Hiccup said, unimpressed. "But Astrid does what Astrid wants." 

"Ooh, so she's the alpha," Ruffnut said, crossing her arms and leaning towards him. Hiccup rolled his eyes. "I totally thought that would be you." 

"You wanna see alpha?" Hiccup growled. He grabbed one of her braids and dragged her out of the car. She yelped, batting weakly at his hand. Tuffnut merely laughed in the background. "You're next, Tuff!" The laughter abruptly stopped. 

~

"So, I'm guessing by the twins moping over there that you showed them what's what?" Fishlegs said, nodding at the twins. 

"Of course I did," Hiccup said. "They really have to learn to stop booby trapping everywhere I step." 

"Of course," Fishlegs said. "How was your little adventure yesterday?" 

"Awful. I felt wobbly on my feet and Astrid has some weird friends." 

"Ah, and you're no different?" 

"I'd classify you as gruesome and the twins as annoying." 

"Fair enough. Have you gotten any closer to finding the heroes?" 

"Nope. They wear masks. That means they're trying to keep their identities secret. Their outside ties aren't going to be easy to find." Hiccup paused, stroking his chin. "But, I think I have an idea of someone who might be connected to them, but I don't think they'd tell me if I asked. We're going to have to stage a little attack to prove my theory." 

"And who is this mysterious 'them'?" Fishlegs asked. 

"You'll see. Now, do you think the twins are up for some attacking?"