Title: You Can't Listen to Snotlout
Summary: Hiccup is a curious six year old with a six year old cousin who would do anything to harm Hiccup, even if that means getting Hiccup to eat a poisonous berry while they're in the woods.
Characters: Hiccup, Stoick
Genre: Hurt/Comfort/Family
Rating: K
Requested by: lutavero
Hiccup didn't like Snotlout for many reasons.
So, when his father was extremely busy one day and Spitelout offered to watch Hiccup for the day while Stoick worked, Hiccup was less than thrilled.
"Do I have to go, Dad?" he whined, clinging to his father's leg and refusing to let go. Spitelout and Snotlout stood across from them, Snotlout giving Hiccup the "look" that Hiccup knew meant trouble. He yelped and held tighter to Stoick's leg, scared to let go.
Stoick bent down and tried to untangle Hiccup's arms from around his leg, and he did so easily. "Yes, Hiccup," he said. "Just for today, alright?"
Snotlout snickered.
Hiccup wanted to hide so desperately. His cousin was mean. His cousin didn't care what happened to Hiccup. Hiccup didn't like his cousin's company, and now, hearing that he would be spending the entire day with Snotlout just freaked the almost seven-year-old out.
"Dad-" Hiccup pleaded.
"Go on, Hiccup," he said, giving Hiccup a small, encouraging shove towards Snotlout and Spitelout. "I'll see you later on tonight, alright?"
Hiccup didn't want to argue with his father. He knew it wasn't respectful. So, his shoulders slumping, he nodded slowly, turned, and stepped in front of Snotlout while Stoick left in the opposite direction.
"Come on, Hiccup," Snotlout said, his fat fingers snaking around Hiccup's skinny wrist. "I have an idea. We're going to have so much fun today, aren't we, baby cousin?"
Hiccup gulped, afraid to argue yet afraid to find out what Snotlout meant.
"Don't be away too long, Snotlout," Spitelout said. "And be careful."
"We will be!" Snotlout said innocently. "Come on, Hiccup!" He began running, purposely faster than Hiccup could run, so he was dragging Hiccup more than anything. Hiccup tried to keep up, but that proved to be impossible, too. He still tried his hardest regardless.
Snotlout raced straight into Raven Point. Hiccup spent a lot of time in Raven Point, but he never went very deep into the forest. So, when Snotlout continued pulling him, further and further, deeper and deeper into Raven Point, Hiccup started protesting.
"Wait," he said. "I don't think we should go all the way in here, Snotlout." He tried to wriggle away from Snotlout's grasp, but Snotlout only held tighter in response.
"Don't be a sour egg, Hiccup," Snotlout said. "We're going to have fun, remember? I found these really cool looking berries, and I want you to see them, too."
Hiccup paused. Berries? And better yet, cool looking berries? Hiccup was smart, yes, but his curiosity often got the best of him. "Berries?" he asked.
Snotlout nodded eagerly. "Oh, yes," he said. "I think you're going to like them, Hiccup." Snotlout stopped suddenly and jerked Hiccup to the ground, whether he meant to or not. Hiccup didn't fall very hard, and managed to get up almost as soon as he fell.
"Here we are!" Snotlout announced. He took a step forward, and Hiccup followed him closely.
Yes, there were berries, and they did look cool. Hiccup tilted his head at them and took another step forward, in front of Snotlout. "They are cool," Hiccup said.
Snotlout nodded. "You know," he said, "if you want, you can eat them."
Hiccup looked back at Snotlout. Eat them? That sounded fun. "Really?" he asked. "You sure they aren't poisonous?"
Snotlout nodded. "Oh, of course they aren't!" he said. "I wouldn't lie to my little cousin, would I? I'm sure they taste great!"
Unfortunately, Hiccup forgot that Snotlout was indeed a liar, and a big one at that. So, he did the only thing any six-year-old in his place would do.
He ate the berries.
...
Stoick was up late, sitting at the table in the main room of their house, reading over some paperwork he had to finish. Two candles, almost out of wax and wick to burn, sat on the table and gave off just enough light for Stoick to work. Stoick was never a big reader, of course, which made reading over paperwork such as this an even less enjoyable task.
He'd been working on paperwork most the day, and he was glad that his brother, Spitelout, had offered to watch Hiccup for him while he worked. Hiccup was only six (or, six and three quarters, according to Hiccup. His birthday was next month), but the boy could get into more trouble than Stoick ever thought was possible. Working with his son in the same room with him would be a truly impossible task, so he was grateful to his brother.
Spitelout had dropped Hiccup off about an hour ago, when it was dark, and Stoick had sent his son off to bed. It had been late already, and way past the lad's bedtime, so, to Stoick's surprise and relief, Hiccup hadn't protested when he was told to go to bed. Normally, the boy would whine like mad when he was told it was time to sleep, and when he stopped whining, he would beg his father to read to him (which wasn't one of Stoick's best interests, since he wasn't a big reader). Sometimes, Stoick did, while other times, he was just a bit too busy with paperwork or other tasks he had to complete as Chief of the village.
Ah, well. Hiccup was a good lad with all good intentions, and he understood when Stoick was busy, which was a relief. At least Hiccup knew that Stoick wasn't trying to neglect him. Hiccup was a smart boy.
Stoick was just about to start on the final, thankfully small stack of papers when he heard soft, tentative footsteps creeping down the stairs. Stoick looked over his shoulder as Hiccup slowly stepped down the stairs and onto the main floor of the house.
"Hiccup," Stoick said. "What are you doing up, lad? It's past your bedtime."
"I can't sleep," Hiccup murmured tiredly. He shuffled over and stood beside his father. "I don't feel good."
Stoick couldn't help but sigh heavily. It was never pretty when Hiccup got sick, but the worst part about it was the helpless feeling Stoick felt when he watched his son in his misery.
"Alright," Stoick said. "Come here, son."
Hiccup, almost desperately, climbed into his father's lap and rested his head against Stoick's chest. Hiccup was always overly clingy when he was sick, and sometimes, he just had to be held. He was still a young boy, after all. Even though Stoick was the Chief, he was also Hiccup's father, and the only person (besides maybe Gobber) who could take care of him when he was ill.
"I'm just going to finish up here," Stoick said, "and then we'll see what we can do, alright?" At the same time, he was still the Chief, and he had to finish this. He only had about two more papers to go over. It wouldn't take more than a few minutes.
Stoick skim read most of the paperwork, his mind focused on Hiccup while his eyes tried (and failed) to focus on the paper. He smoothed Hiccup's hair back off his face, and Hiccup nuzzled against him like a frightened kitten finding a safe haven. Stoick couldn't help but worry. Hiccup had a fever, and it wasn't a very low fever.
"Mn'kay," Hiccup murmured. "I don't feel good…"
Stoick tried to read faster, until he read the paper three times and still didn't know what it meant. He sighed. He was too worried about Hiccup right now to read. He couldn't help but worry. He was a father, it was his job to worry and to take care of his son.
Besides...he had been doing paperwork all day. He could take a break, take care of Hiccup, and then finish up his work in the morning. The paperwork could wait, but Stoick didn't think Hiccup could.
He set the papers down and wrapped his now free arm around Hiccup. "Come on, Hiccup," he said, rising to a stand with Hiccup cradled against his chest. "Let's get you to bed."
Once again, Hiccup didn't protest. That explained why Hiccup had no problem getting to bed earlier. He was sick. Anyone who was sick would want to lie down, and Hiccup was one of those people who never told anyone openly when he was sick.
Not until it got really, really bad.
Stoick tried to think of ways Hiccup could have gotten sick. There wasn't an outbreak of the flu on Berk; there hadn't been an outbreak for a while now. So, what was it?
Stoick thought that maybe, the best thing to do would just be to ask Hiccup what he did today. "So, did you have fun with Snotlout?" he asked, trying to keep the conversation light. If Hiccup still tried to convince himself and his father that he wasn't unwell, the best thing to do was to start by asking unsuspecting questions.
"N-no," Hiccup murmured as Stoick climbed the last steps to his loft and set Hiccup down on his bed.
"Why not?" Stoick asked.
"S-Snotlout's mean," Hiccup said. When Stoick sat down beside him on the bed, Hiccup curled against his father's side. "I don't like him."
Hiccup must have felt really sick if he was trying to cuddle, and Stoick tried not to show his worry openly. Hiccup was a very friendly little boy who always tried to get along. If he didn't like Snotlout, it had nothing to do with Hiccup. It was all about Snotlout and his characteristics.
"Why don't you, son?" Stoick asked. Unsuspecting questions, indeed.
"He doesn't like me," Hiccup said. "He pretends he does, but he doesn't. He told me these berries tasted good, but they didn't taste good. They tasted bad. Really bad."
Stoick froze. Berries? "What berries?" he asked.
"J-just some berries in Raven Point," Hiccup said. "I t-told Snotlout not to go into Raven Point, but he didn't listen. He didn't let go of me. He dragged me into the forest and told me the berries tasted good, but they-"
At this point, Stoick tuned his son out. They didn't have any wild, deadly poisonous berries or plants with berries on Berk, but that didn't mean none of them were poisonous, because most (if not all) of them were. Not deadly poisonous, but poisonous enough to make someone sick.
Especially a young, innocent, unsuspicious boy like Hiccup.
"-and then, Snotlout dragged me back out of Raven Point," Hiccup finished, and Stoick realized that Hiccup was still explaining. "He...he kept smiling, though...and he didn't tell me why…"
Stoick sighed. "The berries weren't good, Hiccup," he said. "They made you sick."
Hiccup paused. "They did?"
Stoick nodded. He didn't want to use the word "poison", simply because he did not want to startle his son. "Yes, they did," he said. "I think Snotlout did it on purpose."
Oh, Snotlout was going to get it…
Hiccup sniffed. "I don't like Snotlout," Hiccup whimpered, nestling against his father's side again. "H-he's mean…"
Stoick had never been particularly fond of Snotlout, mainly because Snotlout was so, well, mean to Hiccup. Hiccup didn't deserve to be treated badly just because Snotlout was a jerk.
But now...getting Hiccup to eat poisonous berries...that was just taking it too far.
"I know, son," Stoick said, smoothing Hiccup's hair back again. "I know, I'm sorry."
Hiccup sniffled again. "I don't wanna hang out with S-Snotlout anymore."
"Trust me, Hiccup. You won't be hanging out with Snotlout for a long time."
Hiccup sighed in relief and relaxed. "T-thanks, Daddy."
The silence returned for a few moments before Hiccup whimpered again and spoke. "My stomach hurts, Daddy," Hiccup whimpered.
"I'm sure it does, son," Stoick said. "I'm sorry. Here…" He shifted from his position, and Hiccup sat up. "Would you like to sleep with me, Hiccup?" Stoick asked. In honesty, Stoick probably would have appreciated it more than Hiccup, because Stoick wanted to keep a close eye on his son, especially now.
He hoped Hiccup agreed. He was pretty sure he would.
Just as he thought, Hiccup nodded, and Stoick scooped him into his arms and carried him back downstairs and to his own room. As soon as Hiccup laid down, Stoick laid beside him, and Hiccup turned, curling against Stoick's chest and closing his eyes.
"Thank you," Hiccup whispered.
He was asleep before Stoick could even reply, but regardless, Stoick wrapped his arms around his boy and kissed his forehead.
"You're welcome," he whispered back.
Author's Notes:
A few of you had some questions about requests, so, IF YOU HAVE REQUESTS FOR A STORY, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING.
For starters, I do not ship Hiceather (Hiccup/Heather), although I do have an alternate universe where Hiccup and Heather are actually brother and sister, so if you want to request a Hiccup Heather story, I will automatically write it in that universe and have a lot of family bonding.
Second: I DO NOT SHIP TOOTHCUP. I don't even want to know ANYTHING about that ship! I don't know how it would work, how you would do it, but NO, NO, NO. Someone asked for a Hiccup and Toothless bonding one-shot and insisted that I didn't put Toothcup in it, so I just wanted to let everyone know that I DO NOT SHIP TOOTHCUP IN ANY WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. PERIOD. EVER.
Thirdly: If you have a request for a modern AU one-shot, it's fine with me if you want to request it.
Fourthly: One thing that would help me tremendously is, with your request, give me a bit more details. For instance, instead of requesting "Hiccup gets poisoned" or "Hiccup gets hurt", you could say, "Hiccup gets poisoned by a new species of dragon" or "Hiccup is hurt by Dagur". If you didn't do this, that's completely okay. I'm just saying, that way, I can have a better idea at what it is I am trying to write and give you all a better one-shot in the end. :)
Fifthly: Please do not post reviews voting for other people's requests. No matter the votes, I will write what I think I would enjoy writing the most. The votes really don't do anything, and it's a tad bit annoying at times.
Also: You don't have to limit your requests to just Hiccstrid. You can do mother/son bonding, father/son bonding, blacksmith/apprentice bonding...just about anything. You can be creative. ;)
Also: Right now, I'm really not writing Romance stories. I'm sorry about that. :(
Aaaand...that's about it. Thank you all! :D
Until next update!
-BeyondTheClouds777
