All for a Kiss 2
When Stoick returned with Gothi he was met with a sight he never thought he would ever see; a moping, visibly upset Astrid. She hadn't acted like this since Hiccup lost his leg and she blamed herself for encouraging him to teach the other kids to ride dragons in order to save their warriors against the Red Death. It frightened Stoick and he wasn't a man easily frightened. He looked up the stairs, fearing the worse. Hiccup had managed to avoid the Eel Pox when the majority of the tribe contracted it. Stoick had thought his son was finally becoming strong enough to battle such ailments – even if the Eel Pox had taken down many of Berk's strongest warriors – but not he feared that it was the exact opposite, that maybe he had become weaker after losing his leg. Hiccup was prone to yearly colds and flus that would land him in bed for days on end. Judging by Astrid's reaction this may be worse.
"Astrid, what's wrong?" he asked, keeping his voice neutral as Gothi hobbled up the stairs to assess Hiccup. He moved toward the girl, hoping to distract himself with her problem long enough for Gothi to look after Hiccup without him hovering over her.
"It's nothing," Astrid answered, rubbing her elbow nervously. A very un-Astrid thing for her to do.
"Are you sure? Is Hiccup alright?"
"Hiccup's an idiot…" Her eyes widened as she looked at him and she quickly tried to fix what she said. "I mean…well…"
Stoick gave a laugh of relief. So she wasn't fretting over Hiccup possibly dying. "He may seem that way but you remember how the rest of the tribe acted with Eel Pox. He can't be nearly as bad as Gobber was. Please tell me he's not acting like Gobber did."
Astrid gave a snort and hugged herself. "Gobber!" she spat and her voice held such venom that Stoick feared his old friend had done something to offend her. "I'm here trying to take care of Hiccup like he did me and what does he want? Gobber to make him soup, not me. Why not me! I can make soup!"
Stoick's brows furrowed to the point it like one brow and he stared at the girl in utter confusion. "You want to make Hiccup soup?"
"Yes!"
"Because he's sick?"
"Well yeah."
"Have you cooked for him before?"
"Well…no," the girl admitted, kicking at the floor. "I made yaknog for everyone and he seemed to like it."
The Hooligan chief bit his tongue so he wouldn't tell her the truth; Hiccup hated her yaknog and only ever took a mouthful to appease her. "Well, my dear, the thing with Hiccup is that Gobber is like a second father to him. In fact, during the Dragon War he may have spent more time with Hiccup than I did and was certainly more of a father than I ever was. Gobber speaks Hiccup, he understands the boy better than anyone. And Hiccup loves his cooking…better than mine…especially his chicken soup. I don't say this often but if Hiccup's sick then maybe we should let him have what he wants, just this once."
She looked thoughtful for a few seconds before finally nodding. "I guess," she sighed. "I'll go find Gobber and tell him…"
Stoick couldn't help but laugh. "It's alright, Astrid. Gobber already knows and already hard at work making his special soup. Knowing him it'll be enough for an army so feel free to stay."
The clicking of a staff alerted them to Gothi coming down the stairs, her face down turn in worry.
"Well?" Stoick asked in a demanding voice. He didn't mean to be so demanding but he was still fearful for his only child. "Please tell me it's a simple cold or flu."
The old woman shook her head.
He sighed, his shoulders drooping. A cold he could handle. The flu was doable but Eel Pox? He wasn't ready to deal with another outbreak so soon. "We took all the precautions, how could Hiccup have Eel Pox?"
She looked to Astrid with a gentle smile. Unfortunately Stoick wasn't so happy.
"You?" he asked, his voice having a slight growl to it. He didn't often get mad at Astrid but after all the craziness the Eel Pox caused only a few short weeks ago.
She glanced nervously through her bangs at him. "I warned him. I told him he'd get sick but you know Hiccup…he's stubborn. He pulled the Honey and the Hatchet on me."
Stoick was confused again. Hiccup always went with Option Three. "What did he do?"
She hugged herself a little tighter, guilt written all over her pretty face. "Ah…he kissed me?"
Silence reigned over the hut. Gothi's smile only grew. Stoick was wide eye with shock. He blinked then blinked again, unsure if he had heard her right. "Hiccup kissed you?"
The girl nodded.
"How is that Honey and the Hatchet?"
Gothi burst into silent laughter, making Astrid blush and smile a little.
"Well he said I was getting the Honey and he would take the Hatchet."
"Oh! Oh…" Understanding came to Stoick and he couldn't help but chuckle. "Well…" He scratched his head unsure what to say. "That explains the illness. Well I suppose I can't really punish either of you over a kiss. How about you help Gothi gather up the ingredients so we can make him a fresh batch of medicine?" He paused when he spotted Toothless leaning over the edge of the loft. "Take Toothless with you. He knows the way to Eel Island. Make sure to bring fishing nets this time. We don't need him getting sick again on top of Hiccup being sick."
Astrid opened her mouth to object, to tell him she wanted to stay and take care of Hiccup but if he was going to get better he needed Gothi's medicine. "Can you tell him I'll be back as soon as possible?" she asked, her cheeks flaming at the proud look her chief was giving her.
"I will," he promised. He watched as the two left, Toothless following close behind Astrid after giving Stoick a worried warble. "He'll be fine. He's a tough lad," he assured the dragon. After all, if Hiccup could survive colds and flus every year since he was born, battle and defeat the Red Death, the Outcasts and the Berserkers then he could beat Eel Pox. He was a Haddock after all and the heir and future chief of the Hairy Hooligan tribe. If anyone could win a battle against an illness it was his Hiccup.
Trudging up the stairs he went to check on his boy. So far Hiccup didn't look too bad. His nose was a little runny and cheeks flushed and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead but so far he was only in the beginning stages of the illness. If Gothi and Astrid were fast enough they might be able to cure Hiccup before he got delusional like the others did. Last thing Stoick wanted was Hiccup stumbling about yelling out random things and trying to do things he couldn't or infecting others. Stoick certainly didn't want to get to get sick again.
He gently brushed Hiccup's sweaty bangs out of his eyes and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "You have a beautiful young lady who loves you, son. I hope you cherish her as much as she does you." Then he pulled up a chair and sat neck to the bed to watch over his boy.
. . . . .
Not far from the village a small boat landed on the beach. A large man jumped out of it then dragged the small boat into the bushes and out of immediate sight of anyone who might wander onto the beach. With a low chuckle he began the trek toward Berk.
"Hope you're not busy, Hiccup. You and I are going to have a long talk before bending Stoick to my will," purred Alvin the Treacherous.
