My Brother

Pairing; Hiccup X Astrid

Setting; Normal HTTYD

Rating; M for Mature

Disclaimer; I do not own the HTTYD movies, Riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk, and Gift of the Night Fury, or the Netflix series Race to the Edge.

Unbelievable

=Hiccup's POV=

I couldn't remember anything at all, and I felt nothing but a throbbing pain in my arm. The last I recalled was traveling Northeast of Berk with Toothless through a minor storm. Why was everything so dark around me? I saw what appeared to be the glow of a fire in front of me, and I was laying on a sleeping pad with a blanket covering my body. Had Toothless and I set down for the night to sleep? Oh, Gods! Where is Toothless?! Was I asleep or had I gone unconscious from the pain in my arm? Maybe that explained why I couldn't remember anything? I got hurt and passed out from pain? It was the only thing that made sense to me at the moment. I needed to wake up then.

'Come on, Hiccup! Wake up. You gotta wake up," I urged myself. I shifted my body a little and started opening my eyes, fluttering them until they finally opened as I was able to see the fire in front of me as I'd assumed before waking up. "Oh, my head," I groaned lifting the arm that didn't hurt to my head.

"You've finally woken up," came a male voice. I froze instantly and snapped my head to the direction of which I'd heard it. "Are you in any pain?" Sitting on the other side of the fire was a man in his early thirties; he had green eyes and orange hair with some brown. Next to him was a Monstrous Nightmare, male as it appeared and had white eyes, black pupils with a black and gray body.

"Who…are you? Where am I? Where's…" I felt weak and tired still as I fought to stay sitting up, but swayed a bit.

"Ssh, you must rest now. I assure that you and your dragon are safe with me. Please, lay back down. There will be plenty of time to talk afterward," the man informed gently with a smile. I wasn't sure if I could trust this man or not, but he was right about me needed more rest. Everything ached, and hearing that my dragon was safe put me at some ease because it meant Toothless was with me still. I looked behind me and saw Toothless laying close to where I was. It appeared he was unconscious which made me wonder what the hell had happened, but it seemed this male wouldn't tell me anything until I rested more. I saw no harm in it. If he allowed Toothless and I near him, then perhaps he was a friend as he called himself, or at least an ally since he had a dragon with him. Finally, I laid back down with a nod to him and soon, I fell right back to sleep.

=Normal POV=

{Great Hall; Berk-The Next Morning}

Stoick was very upset and angry as he stood in the Great Hall waiting for Astrid to arrive as he'd summoned for her to come. In addition to Stoick in the large structure, there was his beloved wife, Valka, Berk Council, and also Gobber.

"Stoick, ya need to calm down my friend. The lass may not know anything about this," Gobber tried once more to calm his friend. It started happening four months ago; letters began arriving from other chieftains to the Viking inhabited islands, all saying that Hiccup had been shipwrecked there and stayed a few days, but then during a raid, he would take the ship they offered him to return home and be gone by morning.

"I don't care; I'm still asking. Astrid was the last one to see him. Given the circumstances of their relationship, I doubt she just let him leave without good reason, and I'm not buying that it was because he needed time to think or whatever," Stoick huffed angrily. Valka and Gobber sighed, as did the rest of the council which was made up of three others; Spitelout Jorgenson, Stoick's brother, and then Bucket and Mulch. The doors opened as Astrid walked in to see the group by the back table.

"You…summoned me, Chief?" Astrid asked making her way over towards them.

"As you know, Hiccup has been gone six months, and lately, I've been getting the idea that whatever he's doing out there isn't because he wants time away from home to think. Now, I'm going to ask one more time, Astrid. Do you know why Hiccup left Berk?" Stoick stated firmly.

Astrid was nervous. Her blue eyes searched the table, seeing the letters there and some having chieftain seals at the bottom of them. Is this why Stoick was asking her about it? Astrid remained calm. "All Hiccup told me is that it was so he could think and come back ready to do all that's expected of him," she replied.

"I see. You know nothing about Hiccup traveling to the other islands of the Archipelago or that he's inquiring about an Einar Haddock?" Stoick raised his brow as Astrid flinched and bit her bottom lip. "So you do know something. This is not a game, Astrid, and I would have expected better from you. Lying to me about my son's whereabouts. You will tell me where he is, and you will do it right now, young lady,"

Astrid balled her hands into fists. "I don't know where he is,"

"Astrid!" Stoick yelled warningly now.

"It's true! I don't know where he is! Do you think I'm meeting up with him in secret or something? I haven't seen Hiccup in six months, the same as you, Chief. I don't know where he is, but you know something I do know?" Astrid remarked as Stoick stared at her. "Maybe if you just told Hiccup who Einar is, he wouldn't have left to find out for himself," she scoffed as Stoick, and Valka's eyes widened. "Yes, I've known the entire time why he really left," she added.

"How much do you know about this?" Gobber questioned.

"Only what Hiccup told me before he left; that he asked everyone in the village including you and his parents about who that Einar guy is and everyone told him to let it go because it didn't matter anymore. All Hiccup wanted to know was who he was because of the last name Haddock. Hiccup knows or at least he believed that Stoick and himself were the remaining two members of the bloodline. Hiccup didn't care about anything else; he just wanted to know who the person is. Hiccup specifically said that if nobody was going to tell him, then he would find out for himself," Astrid explained.

"So you haven't been asking around or nothing in the village about it?" Valka inquired.

"No. Should I have been?" Astrid quizzed now. "I assumed that if no one told Hiccup, I would likely get the same response he did. All I know about this Einar guy is that he got cast out when he was fifteen, and a traitor who was cast out from Berk and the entire Archipelago," she informed. "Oh, and that he's a Haddock,"

Stoick and Valka looked down. "We should have told him, Stoick? It's…our fault he left to find answers," Valka closed her eyes tightly.

"Everyone put it behind them, Val. There was no need to tell him about all that," Stoick reminded.

"Stoick. Our now nineteen-year-old son is our there by himself on a small ship looking for answers from the other chieftains about Einar! You knew this could come out, we both did. Hiccup has a right to know!" Valka argued.

"Hiccup said he would be back in a year if he found nothing, then put it behind him," Astrid stated.

"Well, all these letters are from the other leaders; stating that Hiccup came through saying he was shipwrecked due to a storm or dragon attack, they would let him stay a few days and Hiccup would ask about who Einar is and what he did to get cast out. The chieftains gave Hiccup a ship to return home with, but that same night there would be a raid and Hiccup would be gone by morning. If all of them have written to me, why hasn't he come back yet?" Stoick looked at Astrid.

"Maybe…he traveled…outside the Archipelago?" Astrid suggested. "If that is where Einar got cast out to, then it stands to reason if none of the chieftains told Hiccup, then he'd look in the next obvious place. The traders could know Einar, inhabitants of other islands could know too. Hiccup might have gotten another lead, and that's why he's still out there," she continued. "Who is Einar, Chief, and Chieftess? What is so secretive that you couldn't just tell Hiccup who he was?"

Stoick looked away, and Valka began to cry. "Because Einar Haddock is Hiccup's older brother, Astrid," Gobber sighed. Astrid's eyes widened in shock, having not expected that answer. Hiccup…had an older brother?!

"Gobber!" Stoick shouted at him.

"Stoick, enough is enough! It's been twenty years since the boy was cast out, and I know how you and Val feel about it. The truth always comes out and your order in the village for it not to be spoken about has cost you your second son to be out there by himself looking for answers that he deserves!" Gobber retorted. After that, Stoick didn't have anything to say as he sighed.

"What do you mean…Einar is Hiccup's older brother? Hiccup is nineteen now and mentioned this Einar guy got cast out a year before he was born. That would mean Einar is like…in his early thirties now, well, if he lived," Astrid said trying to process it all.

Valka looked down. "Stoick was twenty; I was seventeen when Einar got conceived and born. When Einar was fifteen, he betrayed the Viking heritage, and his punishment was banishment from Berk and the Archipelago by a vote of the Viking Chieftains,"

"A year later, we had Hiccup and vowed never to speak of Einar," Stoick closed his eyes and held Valka against him.

"What in the name of Odin did Einar do that was so bad?" Astrid decided to push. Stoick and Valka looked at one another, and then back to Astrid sadly.

"Einar Haddock got exiled from the Archipelago for siding with dragons," Stoick informed as Astrid gasped. It wasn't the shock of the information that Stoick gave her; it was that Hiccup had befriended a dragon, a Night Fury and if anyone ever found out: Hiccup would meet the same fate as Einar did.

{Island Northeast of Berk}

Hiccup woke slowly to someone nudging him a bit, and then he heard a familiar warble followed by a lick from a tongue to his cheek. "T-Tooth…less?" Hiccup whispered as he opened his eyes to lock onto his Night Fury's green orbs. "Oh, bud. I'm so thankful you're okay," Hiccup forced himself to sit up carefully, and hug Toothless around the neck. However, Hiccup was being mindful of his right arm which was still in pain.

"Ah, you've woken up again. How do you feel?" asked a male voice. Hiccup turned a bit to see a man entering wherever they were and recognized him from the night before.

"Um, better than last night I guess. My arm still hurts," Hiccup admitted with a shrug.

"Are you hungry?" the man wondered curiously.

"A little," Hiccup nodded as the man kneeled before him offering some eggs and bread on a plate along with a cup of water. The Monstrous Nightmare pushed a barrel towards Toothless, and it was half full of fish. "Thank you," he bowed his head.

"You're welcome," the man said.

"I don't suppose you can tell me anything about last night. I-I remember flying with Toothless in the storm, and then nothing after that," Hiccup asked.

"I'm afraid I don't know much either, my friend. I heard a voice yell outside and saw you land with you dragon on the ground. I asked if you were okay, but you passed out after saying help. I brought you inside, and my dragons brought yours in," he replied. Hiccup sighed closing his eyes before taking a few bites. "If I had to take a guess, you got caught in the storm and fell here," he added.

"I see. Um, thank you for bringing Toothless and I into safety," Hiccup gave a small smile.

"It's no trouble. So, that dragon you keep calling Toothless, it's a Night Fury, yes?" the man questioned.

"Yeah, he is. I accidentally shot him down in a raid on my village, he was hurt, and we just ended up becoming friends in the time that he healed," Hiccup said softly.

"I've never met anyone else who has an understanding and respect for dragons as I do. I noticed the saddle on his back, do you…ride him?" the man wondered, fascinated by the information.

"Mmhm. It's…how we've traveled since leaving my island," Hiccup informed.

"I've never ridden my friend here before, but we've always been together since I met him," the man smiled now as the dragon nuzzled his face and let the man stroke under his chin.

"How long have you two been together?" Hiccup asked.

"I should say since I was fifteen-years-old. It was the day of my final exam in dragon training, they released him for me to kill and I couldn't do it. Shadowflame here was wounded and hurt, it wasn't a fair fight, and I realized that this creature was one of Odin, the all father. It was not my place to end his life, so I threw down my shield and weapon and stepped back saying that I was not one of them, obviously referring to my Tribe. I told my father that I refused to kill the Nightmare and when they tried to capture us both, Shadowflame protected me and we've been together ever since " the man explained looking at Hiccup now.

"Wow. I met Toothless about six-seven months ago before dragon training and hid him from everyone. Well, there's one person who knows, but they won't say anything," Hiccup replied with a shrug. "So, who are you?" he pushed.

"Oh, my apologies. I'm Einar," the man, Einar, said with a smile offering his hand as Hiccup's eyes widened. "Einar Haddock," he finished proudly. Hiccup's mouth dropped open in shock, eyes remaining wide. After leaving Berk to find our who Einar Haddock was, Hiccup ended up his care after crashing during a storm. The man before Hiccup was the very man he'd set out from Berk to find. What were the odds? All Hiccup knew is that this was unbelievable.