By the Fire

Hiccup didn't feel much like talking to anyone, despite having been alone for the week. He'd had enough people come by the forge that he needed silence.

When he got to his house, though, Stoick was already sitting by the fire, eating and watching the flames. Hiccup fixed himself some food and took a seat across from him. He hadn't taken two bites before Stoick spoke.

"You lied to me, Hiccup."

Did his father always have to have these intense conversations by a fire? Lit flames, red beard - Stoick looked plenty scary when he was angry. He didn't need the special effects.

"About what?"

"How long I was ill."

Oh, yes. That.

"Yeah...yeah, I did."

"Why?"

"Because if I told you you'd been asleep for nearly a week, you'd have pushed yourself out of bed and made yourself even sicker."

Stoick nodded slowly, but Hiccup could see he was still angry about it.

"Who knew?"

"Knew what, that you were sick?"

"Aye."

"Uh, me, and Gobber, and… um…."

"Astrid?"

Hiccup sat up straighter, telling himself he'd done anything wrong.

"Yes."

"That's all?"

"Yes."

Stoick sighed and leaned forward, placing his plate on the table next to him, and propping his elbows on his knees. He rubbed his hands together slowly, which immediately told Hiccup that it was time for a lecture.

"Hiccup, part of being the chief is keeping secrets."

"Dad - "

"No, son, let me finish. I know you think being chief is about speeches and leadership and all that - and it is. But it's also about not telling people the things they don't need to know."

Stoick lowered his voice.

"You did the right thing."

HIccup stared at him. "That is not what I expected you to say."

"Gobber told me you kept showing yourself in the great hall, pretending that all was well - or better than it was. You did the right thing."

"Well, if everyone had known how sick you were, or known how scared...scary it was, I would have had…." He faltered, trying to explain a certainty that he didn't fully understand. "Everyone, they all would have…."

"Yes. They would have. Most, if not all. Panicked, gotten over-involved, invaded the house, planned for multiple outcomes, and everything else. That's why it's the job of a chief to talk, but also to keep secrets. To protect everyone."

"Even from themselves?"

Stoick laughed, a short bark of sound. "Especially then."

Then he sobered, looking at Hiccup, his eyes bright over his beard, the fire throwing intermittent light over them both.

"The people are Berk are good people. You know that. But as chief - don't look down. Look at me."

Hiccup held his gaze, gripping the underside of his plate with his fingers. Stoick drew a slow breath.

"As chief, it's crucial to keep many things to yourself. You have to."

Stoick picked up a short spear and jabbed at some of the logs before he continued.

"That's why you should always, always have a person who can keep those secrets with you. For me, it was your mother. Then, after -"

Hiccup suddenly understood. "Gobber."

"Aye. He's not a shrewd thinker, but he can carry more than his weight in responsibilities. And in secrets. He listens, he argues with me, and he keeps those conversations to himself. Which is why he was here, and down in the hall, helping you by telling everyone we were fine up here."

"Is that why…."

"Why what?"

"Why I was his apprentice? I mean, I was not the most likely viking to go work in a forge."

"Aye, that's true. And that's part of the reason, though there were others. Gobber carries some of the weight with me. Not for me, you understand. He carries it with me."

Hiccup nodded, gazing into the fire.

"So. Astrid."

Hiccup looked up, alarmed at the soft tone of his father's voice.

"I wasn't asleep. Last night."

"Oh, Gods."

Stoick laughed, a low rumble that made Toothless lift his head, then resettle on his smoldering bed.

"You tell her things. The things you think about, things you don't tell anyone."

Hiccup's mind was racing in circles, listing all the things he'd told Astrid about the night before.

How much did his dad hear?

He couldn't remember every last thing they'd talked about, but he might as well own up to it.

"Yes." Hiccup took a breath and tried to explain. "She… I know her. She listens. She doesn't always agree with me, and she argues with me all the time, but she would never tell anyone else. She helped me. Us. This week. She and Gobber both, in the great hall."

Stoick nodded.

"You trust her."

What he felt about Astrid, what he thought about Astrid, wasn't so easily summed up in one word, but that was certainly part of it. He met his father's gaze without hesitation.

"Yes."

"She's a good choice."

Hiccup was surprised.

"Don't looked shocked. You know this. She's strong, and fearless, and wise. She is the best choice to carry it with you."

Hiccup nodded.

"Thanks, Dad."

The fire crackled. Stoick pushed at some of the logs with a metal rod, and Hiccup watched the flames devour the wood while he ate. The silence between them wasn't an obstacle like it usually was. Then his father spoke.

"You know your responsibilities."

Hiccup frowned at Stoick, unsure what he meant.

"With Astrid."

Still not sure.

"Don't get caught. In your room. Together."

Oh.

"I don't...plan anything. She just...she's just there."

"Hmmm," Stoick said. Was that a smirk on his face? "I don't want an angry visit from her family, though."

"Me, neither," Hiccup said quickly. If they were caught, the consequences would be a mess. A mess he'd like to avoid entirely, even if the end result would be...not a mess at all.

Hiccup changed the subject.

"How was… everything at the great hall?"

Stoick shifted back a fraction. Hiccup didn't usually ask about village business outright. He knew plenty of it from attending council meetings, but he'd never asked his father about it before.

"Most are getting better," Stoick replied, shifting his jaw in a way that made it seem that for a moment, he'd forgotten how to talk.

"I suppose it's not an entirely bad thing that I was ill along with so many others," Stoick continued. "Things are about the same. Somewhat."

Hiccup nodded and continued eating.

As he and Stoick discussed the village, the flames grew and fell to embers, and the room stayed warm.