Hey everyone, I'm back with another Blind Spot, this time featuring some Stoick-Hiccup bonding. I hope you like it!

Stuck

As he fell backwards, Hiccup decided he hated winter.

One second, his metal foot was slipping on an unexpected patch of ice. The next, the back of his head hit the ground hard, making him black out for a moment. Fortunately for Hiccup, that meant he didn't feel the pain when his right leg hit the ground on a bad angle, twisting something inside.

Unfortunately for Hiccup, the fact that he started rolling a second later made him hyper aware of everything that happened. Including the pain that shook his right leg every time he landed on it while rolling down the hill.

Suddenly his descent took an unexpected turn when his metal foot got snagged on something. The sudden stop tore the prosthetic off his leg, tearing the skin of his stump open. A moment later, he landed in a big pile of snow, and he was thankful that the cold numbed the pain from his legs.

Hiccup waited until the worst of the dizziness was over before trying to sit up. A moment later he fell back down when his senses were overwhelmed with pain again. His head throbbed, his left leg seemed cut, and his right leg just refused to work. He was fairly sure it wasn't broken, but that was about the best thing he could say about it.

Hiccup groaned. It was strange. He had experienced this scenario countless times in his nightmares. Yet the real thing was even worse. Normally he would probably have noticed the patch of ice with his cane. But he was just going to the outhouse, and didn't think it was necessary to grab the cane. After all, he knew the hill like the back of his hand, and he had Astrid's marker stones to guide him.

Suddenly he felt very tired, and everything started to numb as his head throbbed worse and worse. Hiccup nearly gave into the sleep, before jerking up, realizing that if he fell asleep now, he probably wouldn't wake up. He had to get out of the snow, but he couldn't move by himself.

Swallowing his pride and hoping Snotlout wasn't the closest person around, he started yelling for help.

After a few screams, he took a moment to collect his breath. Slowly, he reached out his hand to his stump, confirming that the prosthetic wasn't attached anymore.

His hands started to shake when he felt something wet on the stump. Over the past few months he had become fairly good at identifying things based on their texture, and he was sure this was blood, not snow or water.

He was about to take off his blindfold to bind the wound when a loud warble rang out, and a moment later his face was licked by a familiar tongue.

"Toothless! Thank the gods! We gotta get me inside, bud. Can you help me?" he told the dragon, feeling calmer now that his friend was with him.

Toothless bit down on his torso with a toothless bite, grabbing him in his jaws. But the moment the dragon tried to lift Hiccup, pain rang through his legs, and he bit his lip to stop his scream.

"Wait, Toothless! Wait! This isn't gonna work, buddy. Can you get Astrid? Or my dad?" he groaned as Toothless released him again. Why did these things always have to happen to him?

Toothless warbled sadly, before running off. Hiccup focused on staying awake and moving as little as possible. He couldn't fall asleep, so he'd just think. How bad were his injuries? Hopefully he wouldn't lose another leg. He wished he could just look down and see his legs, and once again he cursed his blindness.

"Hiccup!" his father's voice rang through the air, and Hiccup used his last remaining strength to lift his arm, signaling his position.

"Hiccup! Are you okay?" Stoick asked, and Hiccup could hear the fear in his voice.

"I'm fine, dad. Just… sleepy, and my legs hurt…" he slurred as more weariness overwhelmed him.

"Okay son, let's get you inside, okay?" Stoick said, before grabbing his back and legs, and gently lifting him up. Hiccup heard Toothless' concerned warble next to him, and he reached out his hand to try and pet the dragon.

"My… my prosthetic. It's up there somewhere," he mumbled when he remembered the missing attachment, and he used one of his arms to gesture in the direction he thought was the hill.

"We'll get it later, son. Now just stay still and relax," Stoick said, and then sleep overwhelmed him.

"You just can't seem to catch a break, can you?" Astrid said as she looked at her boyfriend lying in bed, left leg bandaged, right leg in a cast. Another bright white bandage was wrapped around his head, creating an odd contrast with his red blindfold.

"It's not that bad," he said. "At least I don't have a concussion," he added after a moment of thought. The next second his face scrunched up and he squeezed her hand, and she knew he was in pain.

"Doesn't seem to make the cut there hurt any less, though," Astrid noted, and he shook his head, obviously trying to downplay the pain. He wasn't fooling her, though.

"Still, it's… impressive. You cut your head, sprained your ankle, and scratched open your left leg," Astrid said, trying not to show how shaken she was. This was the scenario she feared so much. Hiccup falling and injuring himself, without her with him to help.

"Thank you for summing that up," Hiccup sighed, before leaning back into the pillows a bit more. She felt bad for making light of his wounds, but also relieved his injuries weren't worse. He would probably be healed in about a week. And at least it hadn't triggered a dark day. Hiccup was just moody, not depressed.

Toothless warbled happily, before licking Hiccup's face. "Yeah, bud, you saved me! I survived the great trip to the outhouse! Another dangerous adventure completed!" Hiccup said, obviously trying to seem cheerful, but Astrid could see the pain underneath. She could feel it in the way he held her hand.

They had noticed very quickly that it was hard for them to share their feelings quickly. Hiccup couldn't see her face, and she couldn't see most of his, forehead and eyes covered by the blindfold. So they communicated through other means.

They didn't show their affection in public much. They hadn't kissed in front of other people since that very first kiss, and they couldn't exactly look lovingly into each others eyes like she had seen other couples do. But when they were together, they nearly always hands. Her left hand in his right, leaving both their dominant hands free, but their connected fingers wouldn't stay idle.

It's surprising how much information about someone's mood you can get just from holding their hand. When he was angry, Hiccup would clench all his fingers tightly, trying to form a fist. When he was sad, he'd hold on with just his index and middle fingers. When he was happy or energetic he'd constantly move his fingers like he was playing an instrument. And when he was about to have a dark day, he'd squeeze every few seconds and rub his thumb on the back of her hand. Astrid knew that she had similar tics, and that Hiccup read her hands like she read his.

They were trying to use it to communicate more complex things too. Drawing a circle on the back of the other's hand with a thumb meant "Can we go somewhere to be alone?". Astrid drew a cross if there was an obstacle coming up and Hiccup would have to step aside. Hiccup drew two parallel lines if he had a phantom pain.

A heart meant "I love you."

It was thrilling, having a secret code language to talk with, right in front of other people without them knowing. It was hard for her to identify his subtle finger movements on her scarred hands, but she learned.

And now that learning paid off, as even though Hiccup talked like he was cheerful and joking, his fingers in her hand told her he was frustrated and angry.

"Hey, at least you'll be healed in time for Snoggletog. Imagine if you had fallen two weeks later, you'd have missed it! And now you can just stay in bed instead of having to help with the preparations!" she said, hoping to cheer him up. But Hiccup just sighed.

"Stay in bed all day! Yay! So much exciting stuff is happening in my room!" Hiccup exclaimed sarcastically, and Astrid resisted the urge to punch him. He should be happy he would only be in bed for a week!

"At least you get to go out. My dad says he won't even let me out on crutches. And there's still some work I have to do at the forge, and I need to repair my prosthetic. It's all bend, see?" Hiccup said as he reached under the bed with his free hand and retrieved his fake leg, the metal end twisted where it had caught on a rock.

"We'll repair it together when you can actually walk on crutches. That should give you something to look forward to," she told him, rubbing the cast on his right leg.

"I can already do that! I can balance on my toes, that doesn't hurt that much! I just can't use my cane, but what's the worst that could happen?" Hiccup said as he put the prosthetic back down.

This time, Astrid did punch him. "You're seriously asking that while you're covered in bandages from falling on ice you didn't see?" she exclaimed. She admired his tenacity and refusal to let physical injuries hinder him, but now she was getting a little worried that Hiccup might be considering doing very stupid things. Like braving the icy roads of Berk by himself on crutches.

"Yeah, but… but I can't just stay inside forever, can I? I mean, you'll be helpful and productive and… and part of the village, and I'm just… sitting here," Hiccup muttered, and Astrid frowned. His hand produced more signals of frustration and anger, but he seemed more sad than angry.

"Look, Hiccup, I wish you could help too. But you can't right now, okay? Besides, you have helped plenty! This is the first time we'll celebrate Snoggletog with dragons, and that's because of you!" she told him as she squeezed his hand. Hiccup didn't say anything, but she felt him respond with a squeeze in return.

An "I know you're right, but I don't want to admit it out loud, so I'll just say it in this way"-squeeze. It made her smile.

"And at least you don't have to be in the kitchens all day! My mom is making me help her prepare the feast! It's so boring, I hate cooking! It's just waiting for stuff to boil or bake! And Stormfly isn't allowed inside!" she said, hoping her complaints would distract Hiccup from his own situation.

"Heh, can't you take me with me? Please? I can keep you company? I'll just sit there, maybe help with the cooking a little?" Hiccup begged playfully, but she could see he was hoping she'd say yes.

"No, you can't. There's no spare room for you to sit, and my mom loves you, but she'll kill you if you ruin a cake because you added salt instead of sugar or something," Astrid explained, even though she wished he could come. It would be nice to have Hiccup with her. His presence seemed to stop her mother's endless teasing slightly. And with the massive feast that was being prepared, it was unlikely she would get much time to visit Hiccup.

"Fine, I'll just stay here and sleep some more. But I'm warning you, we can't keep all this… raw… Vikingness… contained! Or there will be consequences!" Hiccup said as he flexed his arm, trying to look tough. It failed when he leaned back a little and hit his head against the headboard, eliciting another groan.

Astrid suppressed her laugh, before prodding Toothless. "Toothless, I've got a mission for you. If Hiccup tries to get out of that bed, you just sit on him, okay? Don't let him hurt himself even more," she told the dragon, sniggering at Hiccup's indignant "Hey!", followed by a sound of surprise when Toothless put his paws on Hiccup's belly, pushing him back into the bed.

"Whose side are you on here, bud?" Hiccup asked the dragon in an insulted tone, but Astrid knew that secretly he was grateful she was concerned for him.

His fingers told her so.

The moment Stoick walked through the front door and saw his son sitting downstairs he knew this was going to be a long day. And he had hoped for a quiet evening after all the commotion the twins had caused this afternoon.

Even after an hour of questioning, Stoick still didn't know why they thought replacing the bottles of honey with Monstrous Nightmare gel was a fun idea.

So Stoick wasn't in the mood for dealing with Hiccup as well. A Hiccup who seemed to be determined to ignore everyone's advice and orders, even though those orders were meant to keep him safe.

"Hiccup. What did I say about going downstairs?" Stoick asked as he moved across the room and grabbed a mug.

Hiccup jumped to his feet. Well, foot. His prosthetic was still broken, and Stoick winced when he saw his son's left leg simply… end below the knee. He was precariously balancing on two crutches and the toes of his right foot, barely sticking out of the cast around his ankle.

"Uh, you said I wasn't supposed to use the stairs unless you were home," Hiccup said sheepishly, but Stoick could see he wasn't sorry.

"Exactly. And when I left you were still upstairs. Now you're here. So what did you do?" he asked, wanting Hiccup to admit he disobeyed his orders.

"I went down the stairs. But Toothless was right there, he's have caught me if I had fallen! And besides, I needed to get some water! I was thirsty!" Hiccup said, and Stoick frowned. There was a bucket of water in Hiccup's room, he couldn't have drunk all that, right?

"Really? Did you forget about the water I put in your room this morning?" Stoick asked as he grabbed a bottle of mead.

"Water? What water?" Hiccup asked, his voice confused. Hadn't Hiccup seen the…

Odin's eye, he was an idiot.

"I placed a bucket of water on your desk this morning, son. I… I thought you knew," Stoick stuttered as he put the bottle down, feeling incredibly stupid. Of course he didn't know, he couldn't see the bucket!

"Oh. I see. But I would have come back down here anyway, I wanted to know if there were more copper sheets here," Hiccup said, before hopping around the room, feeling the ground with his toes while precariously balancing on his crutches.

As soon as Stoick realized what Hiccup was doing, he ran forward and grabbed his arms to steady him.

"Son, you should be in bed, resting! You'll just hurt your foot even more by doing that!" he exclaimed, wondering why his son was so stubborn.

He was so not in the mood for this.

"I've been in bed all day, I've rested enough! And it'll be fine, I'm really good on these crutches by now! Of course, I'd be even better if you'd just let me go to the forge to repair my prosthetic…" Hiccup said cheerfully, like there wasn't any danger in that.

"Hiccup, no. I've told you before, it's not safe. The roads are icy, and if you slip again… You were really lucky before, son. It could have been much worse. Just… can't you make your inventions in here?" Stoick asked, grabbing Hiccup's shoulders again to keep him still.

"Well, that's just an occupational hazard, dad! I'm sick of lying in bed all day, and I don't have my stuff here. It's all in the forge! I need more copper, I need more wood, I need more metal! And I need the forge to do things with it! I have this great idea for a new tail fin for Toothless, and I want to make a present for Astrid! That has to be done before Snoggletog!" Hiccup exclaimed, and Stoick detected a hint of anger in his voice.

"Listen, Hiccup. We can't always have what we want. You're not allowed to use the forge while you're healing, and I won't let you walk there. It's too dangerous. You're too fragile!" Stoick said as he started to push Hiccup gently towards the stairs.

"Dad! I'm not some delicate flower! I survived the Red Death, I can take a little ice! And if I can't go to the forge, can't you get some supplies for me? I can make you a list!" Hiccup said, still with that infuriatingly enthusiastic voice. Stoick didn't understand how Hiccup could be so… thick.

Over the past few months Stoick had finally realized how clever his son was. His mind worked at speeds he couldn't even comprehend, often analyzing problems and offering solutions before Stoick even understood what the problem was in the first place. And he made incredible inventions and clever tools. But when it came to his own safety, Hiccup just didn't seem to care or think at all.

Stoick on the other hand, couldn't stop thinking about what might happen to him. That day when he had found him in the snow, red blood staining the white flakes, he had thought for a moment that he was dead. He had broken his neck or hit his head to hard, and just… died. It was like something from his nightmares. And even when Gothi had come by and told him that he had just cut his leg and sprained the other, he still didn't feel calm. He kept imagining new scenarios of what could go wrong. And Hiccup, precariously balancing on his crutches or metal leg, surrounded by glowing hot metals and sharp objects in the forge?

That wasn't a situation he liked very much right now. So to hear Hiccup… demand to be in that dangerous position frustrated him.

"Hiccup! No, and that's the last word on it! You're going to go to bed, and you're going to heal! And then we can start thinking about letting you go near dangerous objects again," Stoick said as clearly as he could, hoping that his tone would tell Hiccup that there was no room for argument here.

It was never that simple.

"What? You mean my tools? I can handle myself, dad! You don't have to lock me away like this, I won't break from every little thing!" Hiccup said loudly, and Stoick could hear that he was doing his best not to start shouting.

"Because you are fragile, Hiccup! You're blind, you've lost a leg, don't you realize that? You can't just do whatever strikes your fancy, there are things that are just too dangerous for you now!" Stoick said through gritted teeth, and he knew he was very close to losing his temper.

Hiccup lost his, though, when he heard that.

"Do you think I don't know that? Do you… Do you think I don't know that… I'm blind… and… Gods, why don't you get it?!" Hiccup screamed, and before Stoick could react, he wrestled his way out of his grip and started stumbling up the stairs.

Stoick was about to go after him, but before he could get his legs to work Hiccup's bedroom door slammed shut, and the anger disappeared.

"Thor, give me strength," he muttered, before collapsing onto the nearest chair.

He loved Hiccup so much, but it was so hard to understand him. Stoick just didn't know how to talk to him, he consistently reacted differently from what Stoick expected. He seemed so strong and cheerful sometimes, and then it changed to angry or frustrated without rhyme or reason.

He wondered if he should get Astrid. She always knew how to deal with Hiccup, and the two often seemed to communicate without saying anything at all, like they were reading each others minds.

Stoick wished Hiccup would just ask her to marry him already. Then they'd live in their own house and he wouldn't have to deal with this anymore. But the moment after he thought it he felt guilty. Hiccup couldn't help the fact that he was different, and he shouldn't start thinking of Hiccup as a burden. Not again. He couldn't let Astrid clean up his mess. He should do what Gobber told him, and listen to his son. He should try to find out why he was angry, and find a way to fix it.

He sighed deeply, before standing up from the chair and moving towards the stairs. As he started climbing the steps, he felt dread. Why was he so scared of facing his own son?

He stopped in front of the door, but didn't try to open it. He should get Hiccup's permission before entering his room.

"Hiccup, can we talk?" Stoick asked, waiting a few seconds for a response that didn't come.

"I'm not angry. I just want to talk about what just happened. And… And I'd rather not talk through a door. Can I come in, please?" he hesitantly asked. Stoick nearly started laughing when he realized he would never be this submissive to anyone else. A chief didn't beg or ask. But he wasn't a chief now. He was a father, and he needed to act like one.

Stoick listened for a few seconds, frowning when he heard dragon growls, interspersed with muffled words. It took him a moment to realize Toothless had to be in there, talking to Hiccup. He hoped the dragon was trying to convince Hiccup to open the door.

Eventually a muffled "Okay," reached his ears, and Stoick slowly opened the door, glancing around the room when he stepped inside. He frowned when he saw the bed was empty, and a quick inspection of the room didn't reveal Hiccup either. The bucket of water was still on the desk where he left it.

"Hiccup, where are-" Stoick started to say before he spotted Hiccup's crutches on the floor, next to Toothless' curled up form. Of course that's where he was. He felt a flare of anger when he realized Hiccup was avoiding him, but he suppressed the anger. Shouting at him wouldn't help.

"Hiccup, can you come out of there, please? I would like to see you when I talk to you," he slowly said. Toothless looked at him warily, faint distrust on his face, before lifting a wing, revealing Hiccup lying against the dragon's chest.

"Thank you, Toothless. Now, son. What did you mean when you said I didn't get it? Can you explain it to me?" Stoick asked, forcing himself to remain calm and gentle.

Hiccup was quiet for a while, clearly thinking about his words.

"It's… I… You said I don't realize I'm… in danger. But I do know that. I know that better than anyone, dad. When I'm… up here, with nothing to do and no one to talk to, that's all I can think about. I think and I think and I think and I think, because I've got nothing else to do. And I keep wondering if there was something I could have done to avoid that patch of ice, and I'm… I'm scared that I'll fall again when I go out," Hiccup slowly said, making Stoick frown. If he felt that way, then why was he so… dismissive of their efforts to protect him?

"Then you must understand why I'm doing this, Hiccup. I'm… I'm scared too! I don't want anything else bad to happen to you," he said, before kneeling on the floor to get closer to Hiccup.

"But that's the thing, dad. That's what I realized a long time ago. You can't protect me! No one can! There's always going to be risks and dangers and patches of ice, and I'll always keep stumbling and tripping and falling. That's… I'm blind, and I lost a leg, and as a consequence I'm more… vulnerable. But I accepted that, dad! I can't, no, I refuse to just… stay in bed all day because I might trip when I go out. Bad things happened to me, and more bad things can happen to me, but if I allow myself to be overcome with fear for those bad things, nothing good will happen to me either," Hiccup explained.

Stoick's first instinct was to argue. You can't just disregard danger like that! But then he was reminded of a time when Hiccup was eight years old and tried to climb a tree by himself. He fell and broke his leg, but even though he cried from the pain, he proudly showed him a raven's egg he managed to get from the top of the tree. Hiccup had been so proud of getting that egg that he said it had been worth the broken leg. And Stoick had been proud of his son then, for not giving up on his goals because of pain.

Maybe this wasn't so different. And maybe he should trust his son to know what rewards were worth what injuries.

And maybe he should be more lenient, because if there was anything he had learned over the past year, it was that Hiccup wouldn't be shackled by any means. So… maybe it was better to allow him some supervised freedom rather than risking him sneaking out at night and getting hurt when nobody was around.

"I see, son. Thank you for telling me this. And… maybe you're right. I'll… offer you a deal. Tomorrow I will walk with you to the forge. You can stay there all day, and do whatever you want, as long as Gobber is okay with it. Before you do anything, you ask Gobber. Understand? You can use the forge, but Gobber will be keeping an eye on you. And you're not allowed to leave the forge until me or Astrid or Gobber can escort you back here, understand? You can go out, as long as someone else is with you," Stoick told Hiccup.

"Okay. I won't leave the forge, and I'll ask Gobber about everything. But… Can I go there the day after as well? I have an idea for a present for Astrid, it's on one of the sheets of copper here," Hiccup said as he slowly crawled out of Toothless' embrace, making the dragon warble.

"You can go the day after tomorrow as well. But then the same rules apply! And for the rest of the day you'll stay inside! No unsupervised trips! You're still on crutches, Hiccup, you shouldn't push your luck!" he said, trying to be stern as Hiccup hopped towards the desk and grabbed a sheet of copper.

"Can I at least visit Astrid in the Great Hall? She's there all day, with the feast preparations, and I want to help her and keep her company. Please?" Hiccup said as he slowly hopped across the room until he stopped to lean on one of the bedposts.

Stoick took a deep breath when he realized Hiccup was trying to milk this for all it was worth. But… Maybe that wasn't so bad. When he'll become chief, he'll do well in negotiations with such an attitude.

Maybe he should support this behavior slightly, he thought as a smile grew on his face. But he couldn't let Hiccup know that he was really agreeing.

"Well, honestly I think it's a little risky, since the Hall is a pretty chaotic place right now. But… I suppose you should ask Kirsten. She's in charge of the kitchens there, so if she thinks it's safe, which I doubt, you can go," Stoick said, trying to make his voice sound doubtful and regretful, even though he knew Kirsten would agree in a heartbeat. That woman did everything she could to let Astrid and Hiccup spend more time together.

Hiccup's face brightened as a huge smile appeared, and Stoick couldn't help but smile as well when he saw his son so happy. But then he remembered he couldn't let Hiccup forget who the master of the house really was.

"Now then, son. Since you'll have such a busy day tomorrow, you should go to bed now. You need your rest," he said, hoping the thinly veiled command would work. For a moment it looked like Hiccup was going to argue, but then he just sighed and sat down on the bed. Toothless warbled, before walking over and gently nosing Hiccup.

"Okay. But… Can I show you what I want to make for Astrid? I'd like to know what you think, since you know more about combat than I do," Hiccup slowly said, holding up the sheet of copper.

Stoick's heart softened again, and he was genuinely curious to know what Hiccup was trying to make. So he sat down next to his son and grabbed the drawing, eager to find out what kind of invention he had come up with this time.

I'd like to thank wingedflower for giving the suggestion of Hiccup hurting himself and getting some leg angst! If anyone has any other suggestions or ideas, you can always leave a review or send me a PM.

As you might have guessed, the next Blind Spot will take place not long after this one, on Snoggletog. That's right, Gift of the Night Fury, now with a Blind Hiccup. I hope to see you then!