Chapter 1.
"Hiccup, are you sure you're alright?"
Hiccup sighed and turned around, succeeding in hiding his grimace at the sharp movement which sent spasming pain up his abdomen and chest.
"Yep! Perfectly fine!" He responded cheerfully to Astrid, who at this point was looking at him doubtfully.
"Hiccup…"
"Fine! Totally fine!" He continued, cutting her off as he fumbled to grab onto Toothless's saddle. It had been only about fifteen minutes since they'd arrived back on Berk from his rescue, and he'd been bombarded with questions and worried expressions and voices of help. He'd taken it all well in stride, but the last day of being tossed from Bounty Hunter to Bounty Hunter was beginning to catch up with him. As much as everyone's concern touched him- deeply- he just wanted to go to bed and sleep for days straight.
"You don't look fine…" Astrid rested a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he involuntarily leaned against her touch. Gods, that felt so nice, her small but strong hand resting against his arm sent shivers of excitement racing through his veins. He thought he'd overcome this feeling a while ago, but obviously, he hadn't. Either that or he was just extremely tired and too tired to try and hide anything.
"Hiccup?"
"Hm?" He murmured, his fuzzy brain coming back into focus.
"You dazed off for a moment… are you tired?"
"Nuh…" he tried to answer, but it came out as a low groan. "I'm… fine…"
Toothless cooed, and Hiccup ran his hand over the dragon's scaly head to comfort him. The dragon bumped his head against Hiccup's side, making him hiss in pain.
"Careful, Toothless! Hiccup's sore and tired-"
"He's- you're fine, Toothless." Hiccup interrupted her, patting the poor dragons head. Toothless whined and licked his riders hand worriedly.
Astrid placed a hand on Hiccup's forehead, and he smiled dazedly before leaning into it, liking the feeling over her skin against his.
"Gods, Hiccup, you're running a fever!" Astrid explained in worry. Hiccup mumbled incoherently, trying to disagree but failing in his muddled and exhausted state. All the adrenaline was wearing off, and all that was left was pain, exhaustion, and unnatural warmth.
"We have to- Hiccup!"
Hiccup jerked his eyes open, blinking down at the floor before realizing that he'd nearly tipped over and into Astrid's arms. Toothless's head was nearby, and the dragon was moving closer to his bruised stomach.
"I-I'm fine.." Hiccup mumbled, repeating what he'd previously said. It was the only thing that really made any sense at the moment, and even that thought was blurry.
"You are going home." Astrid ordered. Hiccup just nodded in reply, to weak and tired to object. Bed was what he wanted, so if they went home, perhaps he could lie down and rest for a little while.
"Hiccup, you… can you try and… walk? I… I can carry you but I doubt you want that…"
Hiccup forced his eyes open again, pushing away from Astrid and leaning instead against Toothless. People who passed glanced at him worriedly, but he ignored them, to groggy to say anything reassuring.
Toothless nudged Hiccup's leg, making him wince again. That was his left leg, which was bruised and sore from all the jostling of his prosthetic all throughout the day. His leg had been jerked, pulled, hit, and cut from all the jostling and rolling about.
"Careful, Toothless." Astrid warned, her voice filled with concern. Hiccup pulled himself onto the saddle the rest of the way, sitting up and blinking at the world in attempts to clear his vision.
"Come on." Astrid said quietly as she climbed up behind him. "Hurry Toothless. I think he might fall asleep if we wait much longer."
Toothless didn't have to be told twice. Instantly he jumped forward and made running leaps towards the hut up on the hill where Hiccup and his father lived. It wasn't a very far trek, which made keeping Hiccup awake a bit easier. He continued blinking, able to stay awake but not able to see as everything blurred.
Astrid wrapped an arm around his stomach and chest to stay on when Toothless ran up the hill, the momentum jerking and making it difficult for her to stay on without holding onto something. But since that something just happened to be Hiccup's bruised mid section, he bit his lip and shuddered at the pain.
They still hadn't reached the door of the hut, and the pain was starting to become unbearable. Finally, he let out a low groan, causing Astrid to loosen her grip, then her hand completely left his stomach and instead rested on his arm, much to his relief. The pain subsided a little, but it was still throbbing achingly.
"What's wrong, does something hurt..?" She asked, the amount of concern in her voice making Hiccup want to tear up. It warmed him to know that people worried about him, and wanted to make sure he was safe.
Hiccup gasped and shook his head, noticing how Toothless was now standing before the door. "No… I'm…" fine he wanted to say, but already knew that word had been spoken enough. "alright." He finished wheezily.
"No- no you're not. What hurts?" Astrid slid of Toothless back and helped Hiccup down. He coughed, the action causing pain to erupt in his neck.
"I- nothing does. I'm just tired…"
"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the third." Astrid said fiercely, making him wince. He leaned heavily against her side, one of her arms wrapped around his shoulder. "Tell me right now."
Hiccup sighed and looked down at his boot, knowing that it was pointless to fight Astrid, especially when she used his full name. Also, he was so tired that at this point, he just didn't care.
"My stomach…" He admitted. "And… my neck… but it's not bad…" He finished, hoping he sounded convincing rather than pathetic.
Astrid was quiet for a few moments, but then she sighed and shifted him in her arms. "Let's get you inside and I'll take a look, alright?"
"No…" Hiccup murmured, but didn't even bother struggling. In all honesty, he wanted to be taken care of. He wanted to be babied a bit, but at the same time he hated the idea. What kind of Viking was he, that he wanted to be babied?
"Sit." Astrid ordered, and Hiccup obediently plopped into a wooden chair by the fire. Toothless curled up at his side, his head resting by his feet- um, foot.
Hiccup opened his eyes when Astrid stepped in front of him, and he blinked in surprise when she motioned for him to lift his shirt.
"I need to see your stomach, Hiccup." She explained, and he sighed before fumbling with the buckles of his armor. He slid it off, letting it fall to the floor with a dull thunk before grabbing the hem of his shirt and lifting it to his chest, allowing his abdomen to be seen.
"Oh… oh gods, Hiccup…" Astrid whispered, her voice displaying her shock.
"Is it bad..?" Hiccup asked hesitantly. If it looked as bad as it felt, it was probably completely covered in bruises and probably horribly colored.
"Why didn't you say something sooner, Hiccup!? This… I think you should have Gothi take a look at this. It's… I hope nothing internally was damaged. How bad does it hurt?"
Hiccup gave up all thoughts of lying, because the pain was undauntingly there, and at this point, he just wanted it to go away. "Bad…" He answered quietly.
"Oh… Hiccup, Hiccup…" She whispered, and he jerked in surprise and pain when he felt something cold touch his wounded abdomen.
"I'm sorry!" She apologized. "I… I'll hurry."
"Why… why are you washing it?" Hiccup asked in bewilderment. Astrid just continued wiping the cloth over the bruises, and before long the water felt warm and not cold. It was making him feel even groggier, and his eyes fluttered and threatened to slide closed completely.
The warm cloth left his stomach and he couldn't help but whine in complaint.
"Shh… I'll warm a cloth for you in a bit. Right now you need to get in bed."
"Mhm… yeah…" Hiccup agreed with a mumble. Toothless stood up and nudged Hiccup's hand, allowing the boy to climb back onto his back before the dragon dashed up the stairs, going as smoothly as possible.
Once Toothless landed on the floor in Hiccup's bedroom, Hiccup slid off and stumbled to the bed. He climbed in and curled into himself, his stomach throbbing painfully and his leg shooting pain.
Hiccup must've fallen asleep, because it wasn't long before he blinked his eyes open due to something shaking his shoulder.
"Hiccup… wake up. Just for a second I… I have that warm cloth. And I want you to tell me if anything else hurts."
Hiccup moaned and rolled over to face the person speaking, and Astrid's worried expression greeted him. She was holding a folded cloth in her hands, and a bucket of water rested on the table.
"Hiccup..?" She whispered fearfully. "Does… anything else hurt?"
His leg stabbed pain, as though reminding him that something else did indeed hurt. But he pushed it aside, knowing that it would just bruise and be fine before long.
"No… just my stomach."
"Here." Astrid handed the cloth to him, which he took and curled up around it, placing the warm cloth under his shirt and against his bruised skin. He hummed in pleasure, his eyes once again closing as the warmth made the grogginess return.
"Sleep well, Hiccup. I'll tell your Dad what happened-"
"No!" Hiccup objected, his eyes flying open. He reached out and grabbed Astrid's wrist. She paused and turned to face him, her eyes a bright blue with question.
"Please don't tell him…" Hiccup begged. "I… after everything today…"
"That's why I- you- should tell him." Astrid replied sternly. "Your Dad needs to know."
"But…" Hiccup whispered weakly.
"Go to sleep, Hiccup." Astrid said with a smile. "I'm going to tell your Dad, and he'll come look in on you later…"
"Fine…" Hiccup responded, letting his hand fall to the side of the bed. He blinked drowsily, realizing that he really wanted his Dad. He wanted his Dad to hold him and to take care of him.
He felt something touch his forehead, and he opened his eyes a crack to see Astrid standing over him, her hand resting on his forehead, her fingers playing with his hair. It felt good, so he leaned against her touch, enjoying the coolness of her hand against his warm head.
He then closed his eyes and sighed contentedly, before drifting off into a peaceful slumber.
Again, I wanted to get this started since I won't be able to start it when I originally planned (which was on Wednesday or Thursday) but I most likely won't be able to update until Saturday. Sorry it'll take so long!
Love you all, see you in the next chapter! :D