Adorable Balls of Horror: Set during Riders of Berk. When Astrid finds a family of orphaned bunnies in the woods, she takes them in as her own. Hiccup turns out to be allergic, but he doesn't say anything. After all, how could he take away something Astrid loves? Requested by animalsarepeopletoo.

"Hiccup! Hiccup!" cried Astrid as she ran into the Great Hall, flapping her arms wildly. "You won't believe what I just found in the woods!"

Hiccup looked up from talking with his father, his brow furrowed with concern. "What did you find, Astrid? A new wild dragon? Did it attack you and Stormfly?"

Astrid shook her head, panting. "No! Just… come on! Follow me!"

With a sigh, Hiccup nodded. "Fine." He turned to his father. "I'll be back soon for my 'being a chief lesson' later, Dad. It's been really… interesting so far."

Stoick smiled, ruffling his son's hair. "Excellent! Enjoy your time together, son."

"I will." Hiccup ran over to Astrid, glad to be relieved of the talk with his father. "Okay. Let's go to this thing you found." Astrid nodded back, taking off after grabbing Hiccup's arm. They raced down the steps of the Great Hall, through the village, and eventually entered the forest. Astrid didn't slow down at all in the maze of trees, but Hiccup stumbled a few times. The boy was pulled this way and that until Astrid finally stopped in front of a log.

Hiccup raised his sweaty brow. "This? You dragged me all the way out into the woods to see a log?" He shook his head. "Why-"

"Just wait a minute!" hissed Astrid, keeping her eyes on the log. "You'll see soon if you're patient and quiet."

"But why would I have to-"

"Shhhh!"

For a minute, the two stood there, staring at the lifeless log with intensity. Hiccup began to think it was all some joke of Astrid's when he heard a noise come from the log. He stiffened, listening to the rustling. It was muted, but it was still there. A moment later, a small, furry brown animal leapt out.

A bunny.

Hiccup released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. He was about to speak, but Astrid shook her head. Confused, Hiccup obliged.

He understood what she meant a second later when three more bunnies hopped out, their tiny noses twitching in fear at the sight of Astrid and Hiccup.

"Aren't they adorable?" Astrid squealed, a large smile on her face. "I think they're orphans. I found them all alone out here, whimpering. They didn't have a mother nearby, so I think she somehow died, leaving them to fend for themselves." Astrid paused, thinking. "Hiccup, do you think I could keep them?"

Hiccup pursed his lips. "You want to adopt orphaned bunnies that you just found in the woods? Astrid, that's- ACHOO!" sneezed Hiccup, wiping his nose. He felt surprised. Why had he sneezed? He didn't have a cold.

"Bless you," Astrid said distractedly before going on. "But, why not, Hiccup? If we leave them all alone, they'll either be killed by another wild animal or slowly starve to death… please? For me?" Her dazzling blue eyes were shining with hope, and Hiccup found himself being convinced.

"I don't know, Astrid," Hiccup began, looking at the bunnies with wariness. "You're going to have to feed them, water them, play with them as much as you can, and then eventually release them into the wild once they've gotten stronger." Right after he finished speaking, Hiccup started to scratch at his arms. They felt itchy…why?

A sneaking suspicion aroused in Hiccup. Was he… allergic to these bunnies? It would explain why he was sneezing and itching… and, now that he thought about it, his chest was getting a little tight…

But I can't tell Astrid, he thought, biting his lip. She adores those bunnies… I can't take that away from her.

"I can do all that!" claimed Astrid, giving a nod. "Now that that's settled, we're going to the hard part- catching them."

Hiccup groaned. "Suddenly I'm not very keen on keeping these bunnies anymore…"'

"Are you a little cutie pie? Yes, you are. Yes, you are!" Astrid cooed, stroking one of the bunnies while laughing.

It had taken over half an hour to catch all four of the bunnies. They were quick little animals, dodging and ducking behind trees to escape Hiccup and Astrid. Finally, though, Hiccup and Astrid caught all of them, and brought them back to Astrid's living room where they were playing with them on the floor.

Astrid was delighted with having new pets, and she immediately insisted that they give the bunnies each their own name. They came up with Fuzzy, for the cutest one; Astrid the Second, for Astrid's favorite; Lightning for the fastest; but that left one more.

"What do you think we should name the last one?" Astrid asked Hiccup, a thoughtful expression coming to her countenance

Hiccup narrowed his eyes, feeling another sneeze coming on. "Um… how about-" He put his arm up in front of his mouth. "ACHOO!" Pausing, Hiccup lowered his arm. "Yeah… how about we name him 'Chew'? All bunnies like to chew, so it's fitting."

Astrid smiled. "Great idea, Hiccup! Hmmm… Chew." She scratched under Chew's chin. "Do you like that, Chew? I think you do!" she said in a baby voice. "I think you do!"

Standing up, Hiccup grimaced as he scratched at his chest. It felt clogged up, but he still didn't want to tell Astrid.

At least, not yet.

"So, what do you want to do with the bunnies first, Hiccup?" Astrid asked, oblivious to Hiccup's growing allergy symptoms as she turned away. "We could show them around the house… o-or make collars for each of them with their names!" She was getting very excited, and rambled on.

Hiccup could barely hear her, though. His ears were ringing, he felt itchy all over, and his tightening chest made it hard to breathe. "Astrid," he croaked, trying to warn her about what was happening to him. "Astrid… Astrid…"

But Astrid didn't hear him in her flurry of words. "We can show them to the other riders! We can show them to the dragons, too… oh! I bet Toothless would love these little guys!"

"Astrid," Hiccup tried once more.

A second later, he fell to his knees, gasping.

Astrid turned around, finally noticing Hiccup's dangerous condition. Her eyes widened in horror as she saw her friend in pain. "Hiccup! You're covered with red rashes, and sweating all over! Are you okay?" She knelt beside him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Can you breathe all right? You're gasping for air!"

Hiccup's eyes were popping, but he managed to choke out, "I.. can't… breathe… it's an allergic… reaction to the… bunnies, somehow…" It was difficult to get it all out, and Hiccup almost fainted by the time he finished.

"Hold on, Hiccup!" Astrid yelped, giving him a quick hug. "You're going to be okay! I-I'll go and get help!"

The last thing Hiccup saw before he passed out was Astrid running out the door.

Hiccup awoke in his bed, feeling terrible.

His chest ached for some reason, and he sat up, clutching it as he tried to give himself some relief. What happened? Suddenly, a flood of memories hit him.

The bunnies.

The allergic reaction.

The feeling of not wanting to take away something that Astrid loved.

Astrid going for help.

Hiccup passing out.

Hiccup rubbed his itchy eyes, wondering just what had happened after he fainted. Astrid must have brought back somebody to help him, and then he had been carried off to bed. "How long have I been out?" he asked himself, surprised that his voice was ever raspier than before.

All of the sudden, Hiccup's door slammed open, and in came Astrid, Toothless, and Stoick. They all looked overly relieved to see Hiccup awake, and Astrid jumped forward, crushing Hiccup in a hug.

"Astrid…! Can't… breathe," Hiccup groaned.

Astrid released, stepping back with wide eyes. "Oh. Right. Sorry. You're still recovering…" She blushed, crossing her arms. "You really scared me, Hiccup. When I came back with Gothi… you were hardly breathing, and…" She trailed off, blinking rapidly.

Stoick stepped forward, placing a hand on Hiccup's shoulder. "Son. You're all right."

"Yeah, Dad, I'm fine." He winced at how horrible his voice sounded. "I think my throat just needs some time to recover from the allergic reaction, though…" He looked up at the others worriedly. "How long was I out? What happened to the bunnies? Why did I have an allergic reaction in the first place? How come I never knew about it?"

Stoick laughed. "Slow down, Hiccup. I'll answer in a moment, but first I think your dragon wants to say hello."

And indeed Toothless did. He practically jumped up on Hiccup's bed, lapping at his boy's face, excited that Hiccup was okay. Hiccup chuckled, trying to push the dragon off of him. "Yes, I get it bud, you're happy I'm awake… but please get off now, okay? I want to talk with Dad."

Giving one last lick to Hiccup's face, Toothless hopped off him, grunting.

Stoick crossed his arms. "You were out for a few hours, son. Gothi said you need plenty of rest and water these next few days, so you're going to have to put a pause on running the Dragon Academy." When Hiccup started to protest, Stoick put his hand up. "The other Riders have agreed, Hiccup. Don't worry. As for the bunnies, Astrid released them into Gothi's custody for now. She'll know how to get them rehabilitated into the wild when they're ready."

Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief. Good. The bunnies were gone.

"Hiccup… why didn't you tell me that you were having allergic reactions?" Astrid asked, looking hurt. "I never would have brought them back if I had known… don't you trust me?"

With a smile, Hiccup nodded. "Of course I do."

"Then, next time, if something like this happens, you'll tell me if anything is bothering you. Okay?"

"Okay."

Astrid smirked, and rushed forward, giving him another hug. "I'll always be here for you, Hiccup. No matter what," she murmured into his ear.

Hiccup nodded back, feeling content. "Yes, Astrid. I know."

So, the joke of this story was making Astrid not her usual hardcore self. It turns out that she has a soft spot for bunnies, and that's why she took them in and was acting so giggly. :)

Anyways, see you next time! Happy reading!

-thepurplewriter333