=Hiccup's POV=
It had been six weeks since that day I decided to move out of my father's house and in with Gobber above the forge. I suppose it made getting to work easier, and there was a back door big enough for Toothless to get into the living room where we were staying right now. I saw my father at least once every day, but we didn't speak often. A few hello's and how are you's; that was the extent of our conversations. I didn't hate my father one bit, he was my dad, and I'd always love him regardless of what mistakes he made. However, that didn't mean the things he did or said in a fit of rage hurt any less. I was in the forge every day for work, even if for just a few hours before I'd go flying with the other riders or maybe a date with Astrid. A lot of those times were because my father was trying to get my forgiveness and prove he was sorry to me, but in the face of it, he was making it harder too because he was all over me.
My dad would come by the forge all casual, try to strike up a conversation. Don't get me wrong, I loved the drive and enthusiasm he had to make up with me. The problem was that he always decided to come by when I was hard at work on something, and the issue with that is the fact that for four weeks out of the last six, I've gotten hurt because he tries to help me. Nothing serious, of course, but I'd get a small burn, or something dropped on my foot. The latest was that he broke the model of a new invention I was tinkering with. Thank the Gods it was just a model and hadn't worked, but if it had done what it was intended to do; Gobber and I would be looking for a new place to stay because the forge would have been blown to bits. I had been working with Hideous Zippleback gas, and Monstrous Nightmare gel, both very flammable and will cause a lot of destruction if handled wrong.
The village knew things were tense between my father and me, most of them kept their distance in fear of setting me off. The truth of the matter is that it took a lot to make me angry and if you were that unfortunate soul when it happened; it was best to stay far away so I wouldn't flip out again. My friends and girlfriend kept me distracted, I loved to spend time with them whether it was training, flying, or just hanging out with one another. Astrid had been a Godsend through all this mess, she came by every day to check on me and make sure I was okay. Astrid and I would take long flights together; find a sea stack, then just talk for hours until we decided to go back before anyone assumed we were doing something we shouldn't be. Of course, Astrid and I still took our pleasure sessions twice a week; we would go to the cove for a few hours on a dinner date. The sad part about it was I knew Gobber was telling my father about the coming home late nights looking like I'd been running, but my dad wasn't saying anything to me because he was scared to make me angrier.
The truth was that I wasn't mad at him, just upset and hurt at what happened. I knew I would eventually forgive him; Hell, I think a part of me already had because I hate seeing him so miserable. At the same time, I wanted to see how far he'd go to make it up to me. My father had grabbed and slapped me over something I actually told the truth on, and it was the first time he'd ever done it regardless of the weak relationship we had before the dragons were a regular part of our lives. I didn't know what was wrong with me today, though. I felt tired and icky if it could be said that way. The time now was early morning, perhaps, 5 or 6 am because the sun was just rising. I kicked the blankets off and sat up slow with a hand to my head and eyes closed.
"Lad? Are ya alright?" I heard Gobber ask; I looked around and found him in the kitchen making something to eat since we didn't have breakfast in the hall until at least 9 am.
"Yeah, I'm alright, Gobber. Just a headache," I told him.
"Well, I'm headed down to open up the forge and get to work. Coming down?" Gobber inquired.
"I'll be down after the morning flight; you know I do it every morning," I gave him a smile. Gobber nodded as he headed to the stairs and walked down them. I sighed; I honestly didn't feel good today, but I was sure I'd be okay. I suppose it was time to get up and start the day.
=Stoick's POV=
I had been doing my best to make up for what happened with Hiccup. However, I was informed by Gobber after Hiccup rushed out after feeling overwhelmed that I was doing too much. I went to the forge because I saw Astrid go there, she was asking him all about a secret weapon, so I decided to jump in and ask what it was he was working on. You know, just a way to show I was interested in his work because I usually paid no mind to his inventions as most of them use to destroy parts of the village when he was younger. Hiccup told me that it wasn't done yet, I said it was okay and still wanted to know. Hiccup insisted that it was nothing big, just something for him, then I got pushy; it ended up being a huge mistake because I got angry that he told Astrid, but not me. I tightened my fist, and he tensed up. Hiccup immediately got taken out of the room and went flying with Astrid following behind as Gobber came in to yell at me about what I did.
Gobber reminded me to control my anger because Hiccup was actually afraid to make me mad and get hit as punishment. I felt horrible after that and left to clear my head; I couldn't stop seeing Hiccup terrified of me, and it was all my fault. Hiccup was afraid to get hit if he upset me, and I'd never felt worse to see him almost cry that day six weeks ago. I'd seen Hiccup scared, I'd seen him hurt and confused, but I had never seen him downright terrified of me and on the brink of tears after what I did. I made Hiccup feel depressed, and I wasn't sure there was anything I could do to fix things between us. That happened last week, I'd been keeping my distance for now and watching from afar while checking in with Gobber. At the moment, it was nearing 9:30 am, and Trader Johan was in port for the day, so most of the village was down there scoping out the ship for goods.
However, I did not see Hiccup there, and that was odd to me because Hiccup was usually one of the first people in line to get on the boat. Hiccup was always getting nick-nack items for his inventions, so this was strange to me. I guess he was still in the forge working and didn't need anything from Johan this time. I suppose I could make my rounds as I did every morning. Walking by the forge, a worrisome sound reached my ears. I backtracked a few steps to listen, then heard it again. I picked out the defined sound of someone throwing up, then an all to familiar dragon warble of concern. I peered through the doorway and didn't see anyone. Had I been wrong?
"Ugh, why do the Gods hate me?" I heard my son's voice say, then more puking.
"Hiccup?" I asked.
"That you, Dad?" Hiccup asked.
"Aye, it is. Are you alright?" I asked trying not to lay the worry on heavy.
"Yeah, I'm o-," Hiccup started, and then I assume he started puking again. "kay," he finished with a moan of pain. If he wanted to get mad at me, fine, but I knew something was wrong, and my fatherly instincts were kicking in. I moved inside the forge and looked around; I spotted the door to the side room opened a bit and walked towards it. I saw Hiccup sitting on the floor against the wall with his knees up and arms over his stomach; from my view, it looked like he was sweating a bit too. I watched Hiccup raise a hand to his mouth and jerk forward some, it happened again before he turned to the side and vomited again.
I closed my eyes and put my hand on the door, and then pushed it open while walking in to see Hiccup wiping his mouth with his sleeve and whimpering a bit. "Son," I said to get his attention; Hiccup's head snapped up instantly to look at me. "Are you sick?" I asked.
"A little, but I'll be okay, Dad," Hiccup replied tiredly.
"What's bothering you?" I decided to ask calmly.
"My head, body, and stomach," Hiccup said coughing a bit. I didn't like the way it sounded or how he looked; I could see that he was pale and utterly miserable. I stepped close and raised my hand slowly, surprisingly, I didn't see him flinch, but maybe that was because his eyes were closed. I felt his forehead and both cheeks and knew right away he had a fever.
"You're running a fever, Hiccup. How long have you been feeling this way?" I questioned.
"Si-Since I woke up around sunrise," Hiccup told me as I saw him look like he was going to throw up again.
"Alright, easy now, son. I think it's time to get you back to bed, you need to rest," I informed.
"I'll be…okay, Dad, real-," Hiccup began as I saw him lean over to puke in the bucket beside him. I frowned as it happened twice, then he coughed hard, and threw up again. I moved next to him and rubbed his back a bit in a circular motion. After it passed, I crouched in front of him, then lifted his chin up so he'd look at me.
"Hiccup, listen to me. We might not be on the best terms right now, but you're still my son, and I love you. Now, please, stop working for the day and go rest upstairs. Let me do my job as your father and take care of you," I asked gently. Hiccup stared into my eyes for a few seconds before they softened. Hiccup finally nodded to my request as I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's my boy," I said with a smile as I helped him to his feet slowly, then he began making his way upstairs as Toothless went around the back. I followed Hiccup up as he took off his boots and laid down on the bed against the wall. I grabbed a taller bucket, then a cup of water.
I set the bucket on the floor by his bed, then the water on the table beside him. I moved next to the bed and covered him up. "Thanks," Hiccup said weakly.
"You're my son, Hiccup, there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. Get some rest, I will be right here when you wake up or if you need anything," I smiled. Hiccup gave me a small smile in return before he closed his eyes and fell asleep ten minutes later. I ended up getting a cold rag to place on his forehead, then I sat back for close to half an hour to make sure he stayed asleep and wouldn't start throwing up again. After that, I made my way downstairs to clean up the mess in the side room.
"Stoick?" Gobber said as I turned around and saw him standing there with Astrid.
"Oh, Hi, Gobber. Hello, Astrid," I greeted.
"Um, hi, Chief. What brings you by?" Gobber asked.
"And where's Hiccup?" Astrid wondered while looking around.
"Hiccup is upstairs resting because he doesn't feel well. I was walking by the forge and heard him throwing up, so I came in to check on him. Hiccup admitted he was sick, and I sent him to get some sleep," I explained after putting the freshly cleaned out bucket away. "Toothless is up there with him now," I added.
"Is there anything I can do for him?" Astrid frowned.
"Not right now, but you can do something for me. Tell Spitelout that he's acting Chief until Hiccup is feeling better, I told my son I would be here for him and I meant it. My chiefing does not take priority over him," Stoick said.
"I will…definitely do that for you, Chief," Astrid smiled as she prepared to leave. However, at that moment I heard Toothless whine with concern, and I knew it was towards Hiccup.
"D-Dad?!" I heard Hiccup call for me. I hurried up the stairs, knowing that Gobber and Astrid were following me. I saw Hiccup awake and leaning over the bed slightly, trying not to vomit again. I moved beside him and knelt down.
"I'm here, don't worry. I was only downstairs. What's wrong?" I asked him.
"Y-You said you'd be here…when I woke up," Hiccup said.
"I'm sorry, son. I was cleaning out the bucket in the side room, I thought you might be asleep longer," I explained gently as I moved some of the hair out of his face since he was sweating and it was sticking in front of his eyes. I could feel he still had a fever, but he'd only been sleeping for about forty minutes. Hiccup seemed to relax now that I was there; it didn't last as I saw him close his eyes and covered his mouth after leaned forward a bit, and then some more. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I reached over and started rubbing his back a little. Hiccup glanced over at me, and I stopped. "Sorry,"
"Why…are you apologizing? It was…helping," Hiccup mumbled a bit, trying to keep from throwing up again. "Co-Could you do it again?" he asked.
"O-Of course, son. Just relax now," I said as I started rubbing his back the same way. At some point, I watched him move a little on the bed and end up falling asleep. I kept up the rubbing for another few minutes, and then stopped when I knew he was out. I looked over to see Astrid and Gobber gone, I assumed they left to let Hiccup sleep. I didn't care, what mattered to me was that my son was letting me take care of him and he'd even called for me when he realized I wasn't in the same room anymore as I said I'd be. It was a good feeling to know that he still relied on me in some situations, and I felt now that this was our starting point to fix things.