Title: Disaster Date

Requested by: travelerchrisedward

Summary: While on a flight with Toothless, Hiccup and Astrid get caught in a storm. With Hiccup sick, and Astrid wounded, they take cover in a cave until the storm blows over.

Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship

Rating: K+

Time-line: Post RTTE season 4

Hiccup gasped heavily as he broke through the ocean's surface, lungs heaving for air and arms scrabbling to find anything to hold onto. His hands only met sea, so that he dunked under the wild water's once more, fear bright in his mind as he panicked. He couldn't swim- his prosthetic made it far too difficult.

He kicked desperately, body and mind silently screaming for the air that he desperately needed, yet couldn't seem to find. Finally, he kicked himself to the surface, where he was able to get a mighty gasp of air.

"Astrid!" He shouted, before he was plunged under again. The storm was raging and sending the waves rolling and crashing- making staying afloat that much harder. And that blasted lightning had been the cause of this entire fiasco in the first place. It was also responsible for the numb achiness in his leg- where the lightning bolt had traveled up Toothless's saddle rigging into the pedals. Effecting both his stump and his leg.

He blinked against the dark waters, the murkiness and dizziness beginning to take hold. He unwillingly relaxed- letting the chilliness sink through his bones until he was certain this was the end. Yet he refused to let that happen. Astrid was still out there somewhere! And Toothless! Neither could survive without him in this current situation- Toothless couldn't fly on his own and Astrid didn't know how to operate the gears.

Just as Hiccup's eyes were about to flutter shut, something grabbed his arm in a tight grip. He let out a surprised shout which just ended in an incoherent gurgle that sent bubbles floating to the surface.

Everything was a haze- until they broke out of the water. Hiccup sucked in air, breathing heavily as his mind and vision began to clear- as did his muddled hearing. The storm was still crashing about them, while someone was screaming his name.

"Hiccup!"

Thank gods. It was Astrid.

He opened his eyes and quickly hugged her close, the weakness in his body slowly fading as he let relief fill him- and desperation. They weren't out of this yet, and he knew Toothless couldn't stay afloat in the rough waters for long.

"Astrid, thank Thor-"

"W-w-we have to get… get out of here…"

It was then that he realized how she was shaking violently- to the point of where her armor was rattling. He also realized with a bit of puzzlement how he was in much the same situation, yet… he was so numb he hardly felt the cold.

It hit him hard, and suddenly, he was freezing.

"Y-yeah…" He twisted in the saddle, wincing as he pushed his prosthetic into the pedal. Toothless crooned and splashed, taking off and back into the pitching skies that seemed determined to smite the earth.

Astrid clung tightly to his back, face pressed against his shoulder and her body shaking with chills. Hiccup twisted his head about, teeth chattering and head spinning as he stuttered out his concerns.

"A-are you- you okay?"

Astrid didn't reply- which worried him to no end. It was too dark out to decipher what direction was where- and Hiccup realized with sinking resolve that they were lost- and something was obviously wrong with Astrid.

"T-t-t-t…" Hiccup gulped and wondered briefly why it was so… so hot all of a sudden, when it was frigid only moments before. "T-toothless… f-find land, w-will ya, bud?"

Toothless rumbled and shook his head, flying faster as he let out screeches, much like a bat would do, to find the right direction. Finally, after what seemed like a life time, Toothless dove down out of the clouds and rain to what looked to be a small sea stack- too small to be an island but almost too large to be merely a sea stack. Hiccup sighed with relief- either way, it was a place to rest and wait out the storm.

"Astrid?" he tried again, her only response being her arms that tightened their hold. "A-a-are you hurt?"

"J-just-…" her voice was shaky and quiet, and Hiccup knew that he wouldn't be able to hear her if her head hadn't been so close to his ear. "Just land… please…"

Hiccup felt his anxiety take off to knew heights at this answer. Something was most definitely wrong.

Toothless shrieked again, before quickly switching direction and softly landing on the ground. Hiccup peered through the gloom, happy to see the cave nestled in the side of the stack, inside dry as it was facing opposite of the wind.

Hiccup slid off, dragging Astrid with him. As soon as his feet touched the ground, dizziness nearly overpowered him. He blinked and shook his head, only worsening his condition as he coughed weakly, chest tight and somehow feeling clogged.

He grappled to pull Astrid along, noticing with renewed panic how she was stumbling and limping terribly. She must've somehow hurt her leg in the fall… might've twisted it. But something wasn't right.

Hiccup finally turned and pulled her into his arms, he still weak from his almost drowning and his legs still stinging from the lightning impact. But he somehow managed to stumble into the dryness of the cave, breathing heavily from the exertion of fighting the storm. Toothless bounded in after him, shaking himself at the entrance before pacing even further into the small cave, mouth open and the purple glow emanating throughout the cavern, showing Hiccup that it came to an immediate dead end about twenty feet in.

They walked all the way to the back, Hiccup half dragging half carrying Astrid as they stumbled along. Toothless came to a halt, and with a quick bark took off back out the cave opening, reappearing a few moments later with a mouthful of dry twigs. Hiccup didn't bother to ask where the dragon had found them, instead just taking the time to be grateful that there was dry firewood at all.

Before Hiccup could say a word, Toothless already had the pile of sticks on the floor before him at the very back of the cave, almost against the wall. With a quick plasma blast, the pile lit ablaze and cast shadows and heat upon the cave walls.

Hiccup slumped to the ground, pulling Astrid down with him. The two huddled close to the fire, Hiccup supporting Astrid as he leaned against the cave wall and listened to the heavenly silence, the only sound being his and Astrid's heavy breathing, and Toothless's light snuffles as he crooned worriedly. Hiccup coughed again, the movement tearing painfully at his throat and chest, as well as making his head pound even harder with every beat of his heart.

"O-okay…" Hiccup opened his eyes, rolling over to place Astrid against the wall. "Wh-what hurts?"

She grunted quietly, before gesturing slightly to her legs. Hiccup spread them out, biting his lip when he noticed the blood stain that covered the entire left side of her thigh. He gently tugged her leggings up until he could see the angry wound, wincing at the mere sight of it.

He lifted a hand and wiped the sweat off his forehead, although he was shivering madly which made absolutely zero sense to him. He coughed once more before tugging at the bottom of his red shirt, tearing away a long strip to use as a bandage.

"T-toothless… c'mere, Bud."

Toothless ambled over, vibrating as he did so. Hiccup smiled and patted the dragon reassuringly, although the dragon looked unconvinced as Hiccup took a second to cough once more into his elbow.

Hiccup pulled the water skin off the saddle, pulling off the cap to dump the contents over Astrid's wound. She hissed, hand shooting out to grab Hiccup's arm in a death grip. Hiccup paused, looking to her face, noticing with a guilty gulp that her eyes were clenched shut from pain.

"I-I'm sor…sorry…" he stuttered weakly before continuing. He motioned for Toothless to step forward, and once he had washed most the blood away Toothless, with one big slurp! of his tongue, lathered the wound in saliva, effectively clotting the wound but also keeping any infection away as well.

"Good… good dragon…" Hiccup pat Toothless's nose with a little smile, the dragon cooing in response before nudging his face into Hiccup's ribs.

Astrid huffed again, blinking her eyes open as she stared dazedly into Hiccup's face.

"Where are we?" She murmured, fingers going to rub her head. She blinked and peered through half lidded eyes into Hiccup's face, looking a bit confused. "You look horrible. Are you alright?"

He honestly didn't know. His head pounded, he felt overly hot- yet he was shaking like a leaf, and his chest and throat felt stuffed.

"Hm, I'm fine." He replied quietly, his stubbornness blatantly not allowing him to speak the truth.

Astrid shifted position slightly, face not betraying any pain as she shook her head, moving a hand to gently press it against his cheek. Her hand was so cool… he couldn't help but press his face closer, longing for more of that comforting chill to take away the heat that seemed to be roasting his body.

"Oh, Hiccup… you're burning up!" Astrid exclaimed, switching position so she could move closer to him. But on the way, she winced and gave a little groan of discomfort.

"C-careful, take it easy." Hiccup pushed her back down, ignoring his own dizziness. "I'm fine, you're injured-"

"You're sick."

"And I'll live. A little fever isn't going to kill me."

Astrid looked tiredly doubtful, but Hiccup ignored her unamused expression. He slouched down next to her, feeling too close to the fire yet not close enough all at the same time. He hated this- he felt like crap. Yet he knew Astrid was probably just as uncomfortable as he was, and they were in this together, so he sucked it up and tried to put on a calm face. He didn't want Astrid to worry.

"Where are we?" Astrid asked again, leaning against this shoulder as they both closed their eyes.

"I…I don't know." Hiccup replied with a heavy sigh. "I'm sure Toothless does though… or at least, once the storm lets up."

"Hiccup…" Astrid pulled away, and for a moment he wondered if he'd done or said something wrong. He opened his eyes to stare at her in confusion, but her expression was one of full concern. "You're like an oven." She whispered, pressing her hand against his forehead. He involuntarily closed his eyes and let out a contented sigh, the relief almost overwhelming as the coolness of her skin touched his own flaming forehead.

"You're sick, babe." She stated plainly- as though he hadn't already figured that out himself.

"Hm." He merely murmured, not bothering to open his eyes. "I think so…"

She shifted positions, before she whispered something quietly to Toothless. The dragon whirred softly before the sound of his standing and shuffling across the stone ground sounded. Hiccup dazed out after that, only coming back to the present when Toothless returned.

"Thanks, Toothless." Astrid's voice was soft, and more sound of cloth shifting and of movement. Something so cold it bordered on freezing was pressed against his forehead, and he couldn't help but let out a moan of extreme pleasure.

He peaked through an eyelid, spotting the heavy piece of ice that Astrid was pinning against his head. "Hm, that feels so good…"

"I know." Astrid leaned closer again, nose nuzzling into his chin as she sighed.

Hiccup breathed heavily, peering through his eyelids at the fire as he murmured tiredly. "So you're injured, I'm sick, and neither of us know where we are. Fun."

Astrid's quiet laugh lightened the mood slightly, as she shook her head. "I'm sure Toothless will be able to find his way home, he's an amazing tracker."

Hiccup paused, before relaxing and smiling slightly. "Hm, right. Can ya do that, Toothless?"

The dragon barked in reply.

"I think that's a yes." Astrid yawned, head lolling against Hiccup's shoulder as her hand began to fall away from his forehead. Hiccup replaced her hand holding the ice, before slowly sliding down until they both were lying on the ground against Toothless's side.

"You know, there is a bright side to this." Astrid said quietly. "We get some quiet time away from the Edge."

Hiccup smiled at her words. "It only took a storm and a fifty-foot fall from the sky to achieve it, hm?"

"Don't forget a fever and leg wound."

Hiccup laughed before nuzzling his face into her hair, sighing contentedly as he mumbled a drowsy I love you before dropping off to sleep.

A/N: So… um, guys. I feel so horrible. But I lost the document with all your requests, and even though I only had four or five, those were still requests I planned on doing. So if you guys have a request, please put it in the reviews. Also, please don't PM me and requests, that gets very confusing. So please review it. :) Thanks guys for reading, and since I'm feeling rather… down about myself lately… would you mind dropping a kind review for this one-shot? That would be lovely.

Again, thanks for reading, love you all!