It was a peaceful morning on Dragon's Edge - or, as peaceful as one could expect on an island full of dragons. Night Terrors were chirping out in the distance, and all in all, it was a warm morning, the sun shining brightly. The heat was a flawless contrast to the snowstorm that blew through Dragon's Edge the previous night that whitewashed the entire island with snow and ice.

If Hiccup didn't feel so rotten, he probably would have passed it off as a beautiful morning.

He'd worked until midnight the previous night, marking down maps and making note of the new locations the Dragon Eye showed them. The snowstorm had kept them all grounded, so there was no flying, no patrolling, and quite honestly, no sleeping until it blew over. None of the riders had a particularly easy time going to sleep that night. The howling wind made sure they didn't.

So when Hiccup woke up with a pounding ache in his skull, he decided to wave it off as a result of staying up all night. He closed his eyes again and rolled over on his side, trying to get back to sleep. Nice, peaceful sleep, when he didn't have to worry about Snotlout or the twins blowing stuff up, or about new species of dragons wreaking havoc on their island. Sleep, where his head didn't hurt and he didn't worry.

Just as he was sure he was going to drift off again, Toothless nudged him violently from behind. The force nearly sent Hiccup rolling off the side of his bed, and he yelped indignantly. Toothless growled and nudged him again when he didn't get up.

"It's too early, Toothless," Hiccup muttered, pushing his dragon away with one hand without looking at what he was doing. "Go back to bed."

Toothless simply growled and nuzzled him again, and this time, Hiccup groaned and got up. If he didn't, Toothless would never leave him alone, and he would get up eventually, so might as well do it sooner than later. He sat on the edge of his bed with his legs dangling over the side of it, and he strapped on his prosthetic while Toothless bounded around the room.

"There, I'm up," Hiccup said. "Happy?"

Toothless cooed in reply, his teeth sheathed. It was no wonder he was so excited: they hadn't been able to do their night flight yesterday evening due to the storm, and Hiccup had promised the dragon that they would do it first thing in the morning.

Unfortunately, now, he wished he hadn't promised it, with how his head was feeling. He waved it off again and decided not to worry about it. It would get better as the day wore on, and if it didn't, he could always take a break from whatever they were doing and put some ice to his head.

But he doubted it would get that bad.

"Alright, bud," he said, getting to a stand and opening the door to his quarters and taking a deep breath of the cool, refreshing morning air through his nose. The island was covered in thick, deep snow, and it sparkled against the sun. The air was cool, but not either cold nor hot. The perfect weather for flying. "Let's go for a flight, shall we?"

Toothless growled in agreement, and Hiccup mounted the dragon. Within seconds, they were airborne.

Flying was so relaxing that for a while, Hiccup forgot about his headache entirely and focused only on the refreshing feeling of the wind in his face and through his hair. Flying was something amazing that he always enjoyed, no matter how he felt.

Landing, however, after the flight, was a bit less enjoyable. As soon as Toothless touched down in front of the clubhouse, where Hiccup's friends were, Hiccup felt the painful pounding return to his head, only now, it was worse than it had been before. It was painful and almost unbearable, but he refused to show his pain, because he was stubborn and didn't want to worry his friends.

He slid off Toothless' back, wobbling only slightly before he walked forward, stepping inside the clubhouse. His chest felt oddly tight, so his breath was short and raspy, although he wasn't sure why. He felt nauseous, too. He passed both those things off as symptoms of exhaustion. He would have to get some rest later.

"Top of the morning," Hiccup called. Snotlout, Astrid, Fishlegs, and the twins were there with their dragons, and they turned to smile at him when he walked inside.

"Good morning, Hiccup!" Fishlegs said back.

"Yeah, morning," Snotlout growled. "You're late."

"Sorry," Hiccup said. "I was up late last night. I guess I slept in without thinking about it." He hoped his voice didn't sound too thick, and that no one noticed it.

He wasn't gained his wish, because the next thing he knew, Astrid was approaching him, looking concerned. "Are you okay?" she asked. "You look pale."

Hiccup shrugged casually. "Like I said, I was up late last night. I'm fine. I'll catch up on some sleep later on. For now, we need to discuss the Dragon Eye and see if we have any new ideas about how to discover more of the hidden maps. Fishlegs?"

Fishlegs stepped forward dramatically. "I think we should experiment with Toothless' plasma," he said. "You have plasma blasts, slow burns, and then not to mention the Night Fury call he can do. We should try those things today and see if any of them work differently. Maybe we can find something new."

"That isn't a bad idea, Fishlegs," Hiccup said, although in honesty, he was only listening to every other word. He was really focusing on not upchucking in front of his friends at this point. "Alright, Toothless. Let's see what you can do."

Before Toothless could even step forward, Hiccup broke into a coughing fit. The other riders were instantly looking at him with concern, and he waved his hand out to them, coughing into his fist. The coughs rattled his lungs and made him feel pathetic, but he wasn't going to let his friends know that. He hated it when they worried about him.

When his fit of coughing finally came to an end, he lifted his head and regarded the others. "What?" he rasped; his voice was throaty and sounded clogged, and he cleared his throat, although it only seemed to make it worse.

"Yeah, sure, right," Astrid said at length, stepping towards him and grabbing his forearm. "You're fine, riiiiggghhht. Obviously you're fine."

Hiccup swallowed. "I am fine," he insisted.

Behind them, Snotlout snickered. "Ha!" he said. "Sure! You're fine, and I'm an idiot!"

"You are an idiot," Astrid groaned.

"Oh," Snotlout said. It took him a moment before he fully registered what she had said. "Hey!" he protested, but at this point, no one was listening to him.

"How can you think you're fine, Hiccup?" Astrid asked, her voice softer than usual while at the same time demanding, like it always was. "Have you even looked at yourself today? You're flushed, and…" She put her hand underneath his bangs and felt his forehead "...and you have a fever," she said. She groaned. "Forget what I said about Snotlout. You're the idiot."

Hiccup shook his head. "Nah, Snotface wins best idiot award," he muttered. "And I don't feel that bad. It's just...sore throat."

"And?" Astrid said. "You know I'm not buying your lies, Haddock."

"Okay, fine," Hiccup grumbled. He knew there was no hiding anything from Astrid; she would get the truth out of him eventually, anyways. "I've got a headache, sore throat, and some dizziness. Now-"

"Hold on," Fishlegs said. "That, plus your fever and your cough? If you ask me, it sounds like Eel Pox."

"EEL POX!?" Snotlout and the twins yelped in unison, springing backwards.

"Hey, it's not that bad," Astrid said.

"Call it what you might!" Snotlout said. "But I am NOT getting sick! If you're smart, you'll get away from him! You know how contagious Eel Pox is!"

"Yeah, so whatever," Astrid said. "We probably already have his germs."

"Gee, thanks a lot, Hiccup!" Snotlout shouted.

"You're welcome," Hiccup grumbled. "As if I had a say in it."

"Forget it," Astrid said. "You are going back to bed. Snotlout-"

"I am NOT going anywhere near him!" Snotlout announced.

"I second that!" Tuffnut said.

"And I second his second that!" Ruffnut said.

"FINE!" Astrid yelled. "Then AT LEAST you can get back to Berk and find the cure for the Eel Pox."

"You won't get an argument from me!" Snotlout said, rushing towards his dragon and jumping on the Nightmare's back. "Come on, Hookfang! Let's get out of here!" Hookfang growled and shot into the sky, followed by the twins and their dragon. Fishlegs glanced back at Hiccup and Astrid.

"I guess I'll stay here," he said.

"Thanks, Fishlegs," Astrid said calmly. She shook Hiccup's shoulder, and he looked at her blearily. "Think you can go by dragonback?" she asked.

Hiccup shook his head and turned a pale shade of green.

"Alright then," Astrid said. "Looks like I'm dragging you home."

"But I could get you sick," Hiccup coughed.

"We're vikings," Astrid said. "We don't get sick."

Hiccup sighed.

It took her a few moments, but then, Astrid realized what she had said, and her eyes widened. "Oh, I didn't mean-" Astrid started. "Oh, gods, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry, I really...um..." She sighed. "Let's get you back to bed," she said, and before HIccup could protest, she put her arm around his shoulders and led him out of the clubhouse.

"I'll bring some water over," Fishlegs offered, and mounted Meatlug to do just that. Fishlegs got to Hiccup's quarters long before Astrid and Hiccup got there. After thanking Fishlegs, Astrid managed to get Hiccup back into bed, despite his protests of "I'm fine" and "don't worry."

"How on Earth did you get Eel Pox?" Astrid questioned, soaking a cloth in cold water and laying it across Hiccup's forehead.

Hiccup draped his arm over his eyes. "I dunno," he said. "I always get sick this time of year, usually after a big snowstorm."

"And do you know why?" Astrid said. "It's because you're skinny. You should seriously think about eating more. It's like, I hug you and I get a paper cut."

"Thanks for that flattering observation, Astrid."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "You don't have to be sarcastic," she said. "I'm trying to help you."

Hiccup fell silent, as did Astrid soon afterwards. The quiet of the room came as a surprise, and soon, it grew awkward.

"You didn't have to come today, you know," Astrid said, breaking the silence that had settled between the two of them. "You could have just told us you were sick."

Hiccup lowered his arm and gazed up at ehr. "I couldn't do that," Hiccup muttered. "Like you said. Vikings don't get sick."

Astrid bit her lip. "I didn't mean that," she said. "I just...I wasn't…"

"I get it," Hiccup said. "I get it, Astrid. I'm not viking material. I understand that."

Astrid blinked at him. "Where is this coming from?" she questioned. "Is this the Eel Pox talking?"

"Obviously not," Hiccup said. "I'm the one talking."

"But I thought we were over this," Astrid said. "I thought...I thought you understood..." She was silently leaning more towards the Eel Pox being the reason for Hiccup talking the way he was, but at the same time…

"Why don't you think you're viking material?" Astrid asked.

"For what you said," Hiccup said in reply "You're right, vikings don't get sick. You're right, I'm too skinny. Most people my age can wrestle a Gronckle to the ground. I can't even beat Snotlout at arm wrestling."

Astrid sighed. "That doesn't mean anything," she said.

"It used to," Hiccup said. "Back before I nearly died after killing the Red Death. My weakness made me who I was. My weakness made me outcasted in my own village, amongst my own people. It used to mean everything."

He made a good point.

"But it changed," Astrid said. "You changed the way we thought about it. Your differences don't make you weak, Hiccup. They make you stronger."

"I don't even know what that means," Hiccup said. "I know people say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger, but I've been through a lot of things that have almost killed me, and they didn't make me stronger. I lost my leg. That didn't make me stronger. I was struck by lightning. That didn't make me stronger. And now I have Eel Pox. You tell me how that makes me stronger, Astrid."

"You don't understand," Astrid tried. "We ridiculed you because of your differences. We were blind, Hiccup. We didn't see you for who you were. We saw you for who you weren't. You aren't viking material, Hiccup. Not in our mindset, anyways. See, you can wield a sword, but that doesn't make you a warrior. You can know what two plus two is, but that doesn't make you smart. You can be big and bulky, but that doesn't make you a viking. You can be scrawny and different, but that doesn't make you weak."

"I don't see where you're going with this, Astrid."

"Your differences make you stronger, Hiccup. None of us were able to defeat the Red Death like you did. You used your brain instead of using your brawn. You saved a village who treated you as though you were the lowliest of low. And if that doesn't make you a viking, then I don't know what else does. You showed us that it doesn't matter how different we are. We're all people, Hiccup. And...and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I treated you. I'm sorry I never stood up for you."

Hiccup blinked at her. "Do you really mean that?"

"Of course I do," Astrid said. "Of course I do. You're the strongest of us all, Hiccup. Don't you forget that."

She hardly had time to think elsewise before he had her in a tight embrace. After a few moments, she hugged him back.

"Thank you," he whispered into her shoulder. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said. "And...you know something else?"

"Hmm?"

"Even the strongest people get sick sometimes. And when they do, it's alright to ask for help. Next time you get sick, tell me without trying to hide it first. Deal?"

"Deal," Hiccup replied. "I love you, Astrid."

It wasn't something they never said to each other, those three little words, but she still found herself frozen after he said it. After a few moments, she hugged him tighter.

"Love you too," she whispered back.


Author's Notes:

Naaaaaawwwwwww. My Hiccstrid side is getting the better of me now, isn't it. I love writing about these two. I really do. It's funny to write them interacting with each other.

So, really, this is a one-shot, but if you guys want another chapter, I can write one. In fact, I'll probably end up writing one anyways, but you know. I want to know what you guys think. :)

As usual…

Until next story! :D

-BeyondTheClouds777