WARNING: It's now a series of cute one-shots, meant to be heart warming and maybe inspiring in seeing the good in people and finding true friends.
Important NOTE: It won't have an overall plot (that's why it's a series of one-shots), but they mostly revolve around Hiccup's arc in getting over his past (jerky) "friends" and getting used to his new life with his true friends; so they're all interconnected in the same universe.
And btw, the cover was a sketch I drew and I've got other drawings on my insta (author . marilia) and deviantArt, you can find them on my profile, if you're interested.
Answering your reviews:
CB73: Thanks again for reading and reviewing another one of my stories! And I'm glad you liked the beginning, I hope you'll like this one, too!
TMYSchol: Yes! Read the notes above for more info if you haven't already! :D
Luna Nightstrider: Thanks you! I hope you'll like this chap, too! :D
NathallyQS: Thank you! I think so too and I hope you'll find it the rest as interesting as the beginning was!
CrystalStarfire: Nice ideas, I might have some inspiration with it, but I can't promise anything...
Enjoy the new one-shot! :D
The Intentions Behind the Actions
Hiccup wheeled as fast as he could to the door when the bell rang. He knew who that was, so he opened the door without even looking through the peephole. It could only be Gobber at a time like this; besides, his father had the key. He was right indeed; his godfather entered greeting him; the man was holding paper bags.
"Is this dinner?"
"Yep." He closed the door behind him.
"Let me guess, dad asked you to come…"
"Yeah, he had problems at the builder again, so he's staying there late, but he didn't want you to have dinner alone again."
Stoick had inherited he family's builder company, it was a big company and with so many project, it was common for the workaholic man to stay late at work. He had studied a lot and he has been working hard on the company since he was very young, their old house was actually one of Stoick's first projects, but they moved out since there were too many steps (two stories, stairs at the entrance and even the living room was one step down) to be comfortable to move on a wheelchair.
"Yeah… I think it's kinda good that he's working so much. He likes his job and it's good to take his mind off of… you know…"
"I know, lad… He's finally starting to work the same way again." Gobber remembered how Stoick couldn't bring himself to work at all the first weeks after the accident that took Valka and nearly took his son as well. "But, let's talk about nice things. I brought sandwiches. Your favorite."
Gobber put the paper bags on the kitchen table, getting the hamburgers and French fries from them. Hiccup wheeled to sit at the table.
"And how are you?" Gobber looked at Hiccup's legs. The boy knew what he meant; he wanted to know if there was anything wrong with his stump or prosthesis.
"I'm fine. I just needed to be off the prosthesis for a while after spending the entire day on it… Besides, I was studying, so I'd be sitting for a long period anyway, and it'd be a good idea to let it breathe…"
"Good… So… How are your friends?" Gobber asked, stuffing some French fries in his mouth.
"I told you they're not my friends… well, not yet… I barely know them…"
"They can be if you give them a chance."
Hiccup chewed his hamburger bite before he could speak. "I just… I wanted a friendship like you and dad have, you know…"
"Hiccup… you're only 15. You're not gonna get a friendship like that because it took us decades to get to this point. We know each other way before you were even born, even before your parents started to date. But one way to know if you found good friends is going through problems, they'll be there for you no matter what and you'll only know when it happens. I didn't know Stoick was actually a real friend — and actually never thought of it — until I needed. One thing is for sure, you'll only find them if you look for them."
"I know…"
"So if you want to have that some day, you better start looking for these friends now. And they can be these weird named people you met."
"Weird named? Almost everyone in this city has weird names, that include us."
"Yeah, yeah…" The man waived his hand dismissively. "You get the point. And it's been what? 2 weeks?"
"Yeah… And they're actually pretty nice. They've been helping me get settled in school, they talk to me and all… I just think it's early to call them friends…" Hiccup trailed off and Gobber just gazed at him with a raised eyebrow. "What? It's true! And… and I just…" He sighed. He hated to admit it, but he felt a bad for hiding a secret from his almost friends. "I just don't really like how people act when they find out about my leg, they either go crazy and make a big deal out of it or they just vanish… or they think I'm a freak."
"Of course they do that, Hiccup. People are stupid and they do stupid things. Not everyone knows how to act or talk to someone like us until they're used to it. You are getting used to it yourself, you can't expect people to know how to interact with you, yet. Heck, I've heard so many stupid things it made me loose hope in humanity… I mean, when it comes from kids it's actually fun and I can joke with them, but from adults…" He grunted and his voice became high pitched to mock these people. "Is it going to grow back? Do you sleep with your prosthesis?" then he his voice was sarcastic. "No... I sleep with them on like you do with your shoes…"
"Yeah… But that's the thing… if I tell them what to do, they'll just go away like my old 'friends'…"
"Not everyone is like that. But why do you say that? Did they give you a sign? "
"Well… Yeah… More or less… The other day, I found out Astrid's house is kinda close to dad's work."
"Yes, and you went there once to study Math, right? And then Stoick picked you up…" Gobber said and then he gave the boy a sly smile. "I almost forgot that, what happened, then?"
"Nothing that you wanted to; she doesn't like me that way…" He said and then began to tell the story.
We arrived at her house and as we entered, she told me her parents were working and only her younger brother, Aaron was home. And there the twelve-year-old boy was, sitting at the sofa and playing a videogame. Astrid talked to him and he replied back, but hardly minded us until he saw me walking.
I could feel his stared following me to the dining table, where we sat down and we studied Math for a long time. I was focused on the task and I improved a lot, which was good, but then I had to go to the bathroom…
I excused myself and then I stood up… The moment I tried to move, I fell straight to the floor. Turned out, Aaron found his way under the table and knotted my shoelaces together and somehow, he didn't even notice my prosthesis, thankfully! But for a moment, I thought she was on to it… I thought Astrid did that for some laughs at the expense of the weirdo…
However, when I looked at her, her eyes were so wide I thought they'd fall off… She quickly stood up and yelled at her brother. Next, she apologized about a hundred times and tried to help me tie my shoes back, though I denied, and then helped me up. Astrid tried to help me so much that I was waiting for her to volunteer to help me at the bathroom… She doesn't know about my leg, yet, but she knows there's something wrong with me and she's already acting as if I'm an invalid…
Then, I left to the bathroom. I could listen to her yelling at her brother.
"What were you thinking?" She asked.
"It was just a prank…" Aaron answered.
"What is your problem? I told you not to do these things with my friends! Mom and dad also don't like it! But you really crossed a line here!"
"Why? Just because he limps? Why does he do that, by the way? What's his problem?"
"You noticed he's got a limp and you did that anyway?" Her voice came fierce, even angrier than before.
"Yeah, so what?"
I'm not sure what happens next because I was away, but I'm pretty sure she slapped him, especially because I saw him holding his cheek later on. Astrid's voice became a bit lower, but I could still hear, since the bathroom wasn't very far.
"You shouldn't have done this! I don't know why he limps but it's obviously because he needs to, he's not faking. And we don't know that by doing that, you aggravated his 'problem'. And I don't need to know what happened to him, that's his business. Now you better go to your room."
"I'm telling mom about it!"
"Good. Do it. I'll tell her what you did."
Then he stormed out as I left the bathroom. And then she acted all careful as if I'd break at any time…
Hiccup finished the story with a sigh.
Gobber stared at him, flabbergasted.
"She stood up for you and apparently slapped her brother because of you… and you complain about it?" He nearly yelled at his godson.
"Not about that, but I don't like it when people act so over careful…"
Gobber face-palmed.
"Hiccup… Of course she was over reacting! She was feeling bad for what her brother's done and she was trying to make up for it!"
"Yeah, I guess…"
"You really need to talk more with people. How do you not see the reasons behind her actions? She only did that because she was concerned for you!"
"I know it, but…"
"No, you don't. Hiccup, she was only over reacting because she felt bad for what her brother did and was trying to redeem herself for not preventing it, especially because she knows something is wrong with you. And it is, you better get used to it, because people are gonna say it a lot." Gobber told him. Hiccup looked down. "And she proved to be a good person, teaching her pest brother how to behave. She seems like the kind of person who'd be able to learn how to properly behave around people like you and I."
"Yeah…" He barely whispered.
"Now, what do you think of watching something on Netflix?" Gobber asked, but he was already throwing away the trash on the table and he headed to the living room. Hiccup wheeled after him.
Just out of curiosity, the stupid things Gobber said he's heard from people I got from a video of an amputee and she said she had actually heard it before...
FYI: I don't know any amputee, so the things I've been writing about Hiccup's struggles and life in here are based on my research about people that has been through it.
Please tell me what do you think of this fic! Should I continue with this series of one-shots?
