Author's Note: *Jumps up and down and waves hands in the air* FINALLY. IT'S FRIDAY! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!

School's been crazy and even though we just got back from a long weekend, I'm still tired. I thought the week would NEVER END...but it did. I lived. Yay. =) And now it's practically the weekend. Two days of NO SCHOOL. =D Seriously, somebody should come up with a five-day weekend. Maybe even ten...or maybe a couple of months...

*Coughs* ANYWAY! Welcome back to another chapter of "Sticks and Stones!" =D Thank you guys so much for a kind reviews, and we just hit fourteen follows for this story along with fifteen favs! That's not much to some people, but it is to me. =) Thank you guys so much! I'm really glad you're enjoying this collection. =D

So! For all of you awesomely awesome, amazingly amazing, wonderfully wonderful people, here's "Stay Close to Me." A Hiccstrid one-shot. =) I hope you guys enjoy it! =D

Summary: During a patrol mission in a very cold region, Hiccup falls into the ocean and is very, very cold. Astrid decides to help warm him up the quickest way knows. (RTTE.)

Stay Close to Me

Freezing. He was freezing.

Hiccup didn't mind heading to Freezing to Death for a short patrol mission by his father's request. Apparently, some other vikings had reported that they had seen a couple of Dagur's Berserkers lurking around the area, although Hiccup had no idea how one could tell if anything was lurking around if there was blinding snow blocking their vision.

The young viking took on the mission without hesitation, and Astrid insisted that she go along with him. She knew that Hiccup often found himself in trouble quite frequently, no matter how many times he tried to avoid it. And the Hofferson girl knew that if Hiccup ended up facing the Berserkers alone, it would be better if he had some help.

Hiccup didn't argue. He liked Astrid's company, although "liked" was probably an understatement. Hiccup was thrilled when Astrid offered that she come along with him. Of course, he didn't visibly show that, but he felt like he had just won the viking of the year award. Hiccup and Astrid spent the afternoon packing and collecting winter gear, and soon set off toward Freezing to Death once they were ready.

Astrid had never been to Freezing to Death. Nor had Hiccup, so the two didn't expect to be hit by a sudden snowstorm upon entering the area. Luckily, they had coats, but that didn't stop them from feeling like they were slowly turning into ice. Hiccup couldn't see anything. Snowflakes were blurring his vision and it was so cold, that he felt like his brain was slowly losing its train of thought. Toothless beat his wing against the forceful gusts of wind, and Hiccup could hear Astrid suggesting that they land; neither of them could see the ground.

Hiccup and Astrid flew through the storm, flying blindly without knowing where they were even headed toward. Hiccup knew that the Berserkers definitely wouldn't have come to Freezing to Death at such a time, and he tried to shout to Astrid that they should turn around. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear him. How Hiccup wished he had something to amplify his voice.

Then, suddenly, a strong, vehement gust of wind blew Hiccup off of Toothless. He could briefly hear Astrid screaming his name, and Hiccup could see that she and Stormfly had managed to catch his dragon. That reassured him, but his reassurance was short lived when he felt himself smack against the cold, frigid waters of the ocean.

His coat was useless down there. Hiccup was completely soaked, and not even a coat could help warm him up. Hiccup could feel himself sinking; the shock of the crash made him unable to swim or even move properly. And swimming with a prosthetic leg was rather difficult.

Despite this, Hiccup kicked and struggled, trying to reach the surface. Surely Astrid was looking for him, right? He profoundly hoped so, but he saw no sign of his friend anywhere. Hiccup was stuck underwater, and he was beginning to run out of oxygen. Hiccup gritted his teeth as he tried and tried to push himself to the surface, but he couldn't. He could feel his consciousness slowly beginning to ebb away from him when he suddenly felt himself being yanked up by dragon claws. It was Toothless! And Astrid was riding on his back.

"Hiccup!" she shouted. "Hang on, Dragon Boy, we'll be landing soon!"

Hiccup didn't have the strength to respond, so he held on as tight as he could as Astrid flew to wherever she thought land was. Hiccup had never felt more relieved when he saw a small island come into view, and Astrid urged Toothless to fly faster toward the small island. Stormfly was following not to close behind.

Time seemed to go by slowly. Hiccup was shivering, and the cold winds weren't helping. He nearly lost his grip on Toothless, but the dragon held him close as they arrived at the small island. Astrid had spotted a cave resting on the side of a medium-sized mountain, so she directed Toothless to land there. The Night Fury set Hiccup down gingerly, and Astrid slipped off of Toothless and immediately ran up to Hiccup's side, lifting him upright. Hiccup felt like ice. Colder than the coldest winter. And he was shivering violently.

Astrid felt her heart go out to him. Hiccup needed warmth. She led him inside the cave and set him down. Toothless immediately wrapped himself up around his rider in an attempt to warm him up. Hiccup was still shivering, but he managed to place a quaking hand on Toothless' head, smiling softly.

"Th-Thanks, B-Bud," said Hiccup weakly.

Another gale blew through the cave, which made Hiccup feel even colder. Astrid knew what they needed.

"Stay here," said Astrid. "I'm going to go and get some sticks for a fire."

"I-I-It's n-not like I c-can g-go anywhere a-anyway," Hiccup said. Astrid rolled her eyes, but a small smile crawled onto her face as she walked outside to search for dry sticks. Astrid knew that the ones on the ground weren't suitable for a fire since they were covered in snow. So, she took the sticks that were still on the trees, which were considerably dry. Satisfied, Astrid made her way back to the cave, where Stormfly and Toothless were doing their best to restore warmth to Hiccup. His eyes were closed, and Astrid felt her heart skip a beat when she saw how still he was. Her nerves were calmed when Hiccup opened his green eyes and gave her a small smile.

"Y-you're back," he said as she walked into the cave and set up the sticks in a teepee formation. "Y-you t-took a w-while."

"I wasn't gone for that long," said Astrid as she finished setting up the fire. She told Stormfly to light them up, and the Nadder complied, shooting a small trail of fire toward the stack of sticks. A bright, dancing orange fire appeared, and Hiccup sighed at the feeling of heat. Astrid smiled, slightly reassured that Hiccup was slowly beginning to warm up, but she could tell that he was far from better. Hiccup was showing a few signs of some kind of sickness. A cold, Astrid guessed, but she didn't know for sure.

Hiccup sniffed and he scooched closer toward the fire. Astrid removed his soaking coat, set it aside, and handed Hiccup hers. The young viking blinked in bemusement until Astrid explained.

"Put this on," she said as she offered him her coat.

"A-Astrid, I c-can't," said Hiccup as he pushed the warm, furry coat back toward the blonde. As much as he would have loved a soft coat to cover himself up in, he didn't want to take the one thing that was retaining heat for Astrid. She didn't show any sign that she was cold, but Hiccup still didn't want to take her coat.

"Take it, Hiccup," said Astrid. "It'll help you warm up."

Hiccup, albeit reluctantly, took Astrid's coat and wrapped it around himself, relishing in the softness of the fur and the warmth it brought. Astrid smiled softly and turned her attention to tending to the fire. Toothless kept close to Hiccup, and Stormfly sat on his other side, which brought more heat to him. The auburn-haired viking could feel heat slowly returning to his body. Very slowly. He still felt cold despite the fire, coat, and warmth from the dragons. Astrid noticed this too. Hiccup was still shivering and wet.

A sudden idea popped into her mind, and Astrid was surprised that she didn't feel at all uncomfortable by it. She sat at Hiccup's side and extended her arm.

"Come here," she said.

Hiccup turned to her, and he cocked his head. "Huh?"

"Come here," Astrid repeated, patting the space next to her. Hiccup slowly scooched over to her, and he yelped when Astrid suddenly pulled him close to her. So close that he could lean his head on her shoulder and feel the warmth radiating from her.

"Um…uh…w-what are y-you d-doing?" stuttered Hiccup.

"Warming you up," answered Astrid. She looked down at Hiccup, whose cheeks had reddened slightly. "This will help get you heated up again," she said, ignoring the blush that decorated Hiccup's cheeks.

"A-Astrid, I-I can j-just sit by the f-fire…" said Hiccup. He tried scooching away from her, but Astrid kept a firm grip on him.

"Stay close to me, Dragon Boy," Astrid said in a tone that told Hiccup that she wasn't letting him go. "We need to get you warmed up as soon as possible."

"F-f-fine…" mumbled Hiccup, and his blush deepened.

Astrid rolled her arms and rubbed Hiccup's shoulder. She really didn't know why Hiccup was so embarrassed. They were friends. Friends do that sort of thing all the time…right?

The Hofferson girl shook her head and turned to Hiccup, who seemed to be taking pleasure in the warmth that he was receiving from Astrid. He subconsciously moved closer to her, and Astrid smiled, patting Hiccup's side.

After a few moments of silence, Astrid asked, "How are you feeling?"

"S-still cold," said Hiccup. He looked up at her. "But I'm warming up."

Astrid nodded. "Maybe you should close your eyes for a bit. I think that'll help."

Hiccup shifted where he was sitting. "I-I guess I'll do that…I'm feeling kind of tired anyway…"

Hiccup yawned and his green eyes slipped shut. He was still leaning against Astrid, but the Hofferson didn't mind. In fact, she quite liked it. Astrid pressed a kiss to Hiccup's forehead, and she didn't care that he was cold.

"You'll be warmed up soon, Hiccup," said Astrid. "I promise."

And though she didn't catch it, Hiccup smiled in his sleep.

Author's Note: *Screams* HICCSTRID FOR LIFEEEE!

*Recollects myself* Sorry...that was unaccounted for...Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this one-shot, and I'll see all of you in whatever comes next! =D

Until the next chapter!

-BeyondTheMoon1203