Chapter 10.

"Hiccup…"

What?

Hiccup tried to move- move anything at all, but the only thing he accomplished was a light shadow of pain that crawled up his spine. Gods, that… it was like chills and so agonizingly slow…

"Hiccup? Can… Gothi he's not waking up!"

Oh great, he was at Gothi's. That meant something happened… something that most likely meant he was injured… what did he do, fall off Toothless again and smack into that mountain again?

Hiccup gasped as the memories came rushing back in one fast wave, nearly suffocating him in panic. Gods! The… the pirate, the ship, his head… his back…

The…

He let out a strangled cry of panic, feeling himself moving against his will- for the most part anyways. He wanted to move, just not thrash about like he was doing now.

"Hiccup! Gothi what's- Hiccup calm down!"

"Nnnnnn!" He whined in a high-pitched hum. He felt strong hands press against his shoulder and push him back against the hard wood of what he presumed to be a bed. "Strrrr"

"Can you hear my voice?"

He tried to nod, but found that all he could do was heave for air and let his hands scramble on their own accord. It was like he didn't have any control over his body anymore, as though his limbs had minds of their own. His hands gripped her hands which were currently pushing against his shoulders, and he instantly wrapped his fingers about her wrists.

"Hiccup..?"

"Mmf…" He tried to reply. Why was it so hard to speak?

"Can…can you say… something?"

"Strrrr" He slurred, cursing in his head against his inability to say her name. "Astrrr"

There was a shuddering sigh that sounded above his head, and the hands on his shoulders shook slightly. He could feel her give a tremor under his fingertips which were still clasped to her wrists, feeling how her hands lessoned their hold.

"Hiccup." Astrid breathed. He felt a hand come up to rest against this cheek, and he moaned before leaning against it. Somewhere in the haze of senses came a shivering chill of pain up his back… but he ignored it.

"Astrid." He whispered, silently celebrating at this small success. Finally, able to say her full name without too much of a slur. "A-Astrid… Dad? T-Toothless…?"

The croons of a Night Fury vibrated the air before Hiccup felt a soft leathery snout shove against his cheek. He laughed hoarsely before releasing one of Astrid's wrists to let his hand fall limply and weakly against Toothless's nose.

"H-hey b-bud…"

Toothless cooed again, a warm wet tongue slurping against his cheek and hair. Hiccup coughed in his weak attempts to laugh, but finding that he only choked on his own breath when he tried.

He pried his eyelids open, peering up at the blonde who was bent over him. Her eyes were pressed shut, her mouth parted and her shoulders shaking in silent sobs… or that's what it looked like. Hiccup didn't believe what he saw however, for he'd never seen Astrid cry… ever.

"Strid?" he murmured, battling against his weak arm as he tried to lift his hand and touch her face.

She blinked and stared back at him, giving a start backwards when they made eye contact. "Hiccup?" She backed up, her hands disappearing and instead going to hang limply by her sides. "How do you feel?"

He grunted and tried to roll over, freezing when the pain grew from a dull ache to an insistent throb pulsing through his back. "Uh… a little sore. How bad..?"

She gave him a soft glare. "Pretty bad, you idiot."

He tried a smile, although finding that all he could do was quirk one corner of his mouth slightly. He was so exhausted he could hardly find the strength to blink. "But… I won't be stuck in bed for days, will I?"

"Yes, you WILL." Her words were final, and he didn't dare try protesting. He leaned back against his pillow with a sigh, letting his eyes close and his mind ramble.

"Did everyone get home okay?"

"Your Dad and Gobber are still out there… but it's been hours since we got home. They should be back any minute."

Hiccup's eye flew back open and he struggled to sit up, finding that Toothless had placed his heavy head on his chest and Astrid hands were gripping his arms tightly. "What!? You just left them!? Why-"

"I'm sure Snotlout's there by now too, you dummy!" Astrid shouted in reply. Her face was flushed- although he couldn't tell if it was from anger or… something else. He didn't even know.

He gasped and nodded before falling back limply, letting his head roll to the side and his eyes slide shut. All this panic and un-panicking was starting to wear him down.

"Sorry." He murmured.

"No…" Astrid's voice was tired, and her tone soft. "I'm sorry, I'm just…" A soft fist tapped his shoulder, forcing his eyes open and a startled yelp to leave his lips. "You scared me alright?"

He stared at her, her eyes large and a dark hue of sky blue. She blinked and glanced away, crossing her arms and tapping her foot on the wooden ground. "You scared me." She repeated. "Stoick he-… rushed out and you-" She shivered and turned away even further, until her back was facing him. "Sometimes I just…" She growled, her shoulders shaking. "Sorry, I just-"

"No… really, Ast I'm sorry…" Hiccup grabbed her hand, trying to force her to turn about but with how annoyingly weak he was, he was unable to accomplish the small task.

She stiffened and glanced over her shoulder, staring at him with wide eyes. "..Ast?"

His expression dropped and he released her hand, falling back against the pillow. "Oh-uh, s-sorry I'm just tired and saying your full name… uh… sorry I wo-"

"No." She interrupted, spinning about and smiling softly. "I…I kinda like it."

Hiccup smiled slowly, finding everything about him fade. Did… wow, she hadn't even punched him for that one. The first time he'd called her Milady… he'd had a black and blue shoulder for weeks.

But he'd also had a lingering tingly feeling on his lips. She'd kissed him then…

He sighed quietly, looking away when she made no move to complete the act.

He felt soft fingers grab his slightly fuzzy chin, dragging his face back to stare her in the eyes. Gods, any minute now his heart would find a way to pound out of his chest… if she…

A loud bang sounded at the door, causing a dazed Toothless to jump to his feet with a growl, while Astrid and Hiccup jumped apart, Hiccup bumping into the wall beside the bed with a small groan.

"Hiccup! Astrid! You guys in there! Fishy wouldn't let us come, but we found a way to get out of his weak knots!" Came Tuff's muffled voice. Astrid hissed angrily and stomped to the door, while Hiccup lay as still as possible to let the burning in his back subside… and to let his flaming cheeks cool.

Astrid jerked the door open, letting both Tuffnut and Ruffnut stumble inside. Ruffnut collapsed on top of her brother, both glancing up from their place on the floor at Hiccup, their eyes widening ever so slightly.

"Man oh man!" Tuff exclaimed, jumping to his feet and sending his sister flying out the door in the process. He paid her no heed however. "I see bandages! Lots of bandages! Looks like your whole chest is wrapped in them!"

He raced forward, grabbing one of Hiccup's arms and pulling down the blanket so he could look at the white bandages wrapped multiple times about his torso. "Woah, I bet whatever's hiding under there is gonna leave some awesome scars!"

Ruff scuttled across the room, joining her brother in giving awestruck looks at the white wrappings. "Oooh lucky Hiccup! He always gets to have fun." She muttered under her breath, stepping away with a pout.

Hiccup pulled back his arm defensively, giving Tuffnut a little glare before scooting even further away. "What is it, Tuff?"

"Oh, we just came to see what happened. According to Fishy there was a lot of blood, so naturally we were curious…" Tuffnut explained with an evil glint in his eye. "Was there a lot of blood?"

Hiccup glanced at Astrid, "I wouldn't know, I was out of it the entire time."

Tuffnut frowned and snapped his fingers. "Snap, it's more fun if you get to brag about how much blood you lost…"

"Why don't you just leave?" Astrid asked with a roll of her eyes. She grabbed Tuffnut and Ruffnut's arm, dragging them both to the door. "Go annoy Sven or something."

She slammed the door shut, quickly sliding the lock into place before sighing and turning back to face the wounded boy on the bed. Hiccup eyed her carefully, wondering what would happen now… again he blushed, his mind wandering to what would've happened if the twins hadn't interrupted… would she have finally kissed him?

There was more thumping coming from the platform outside the door, and Astrid gave a low annoyed moan before jerking the door open, a ready rebuke on her lips until she saw who it was standing there.

"Chief!" She exclaimed, smiling happily. "Glad to see you're back and everything's alright-"

Snotlout and Hookfang landed as well, both looking quite proud of themselves. "Yeah…" Snotlout said, obviously trying to sound nonchalant but utterly failing. "I was the one who swooped in and saved the day. If it weren't for me-"

"Actually Snotlout." Gobber interrupted, hobbling up from behind them both. "If I remember correctly, we didn't even see you until we were half way home."

Snotlout snorted and looked away, his arms crossed over his chest. "Still counts." He muttered.

Astrid opened her mouth to ask what was happened, but Stoick didn't wait for he was already pushing past into the room. She looked back at Gobber for an answer, although he merely shook his head and eyed her questioningly.

"He's fine." She answered the unasked question. "Just… tired."

"Wait, what?" Snotlout asked, coming back to attention. "Did Fishleg's get hurt?"

"No…" She gulped and bit her lip nervously. "Hiccup was- Stoick found him in Viggo's office…"

Snotlout blinked in confusion. "So..? He's here now right?"

"Hiccup is, yes." Astrid glanced back inside, "But he was injured."

"What!? Impossible! Hiccup never gets hurt! He's… well, Hiccup! He falls fifty feet off a dragon and comes out with hardly a scratch!"

"Not this time, Snotlout." Astrid said deeply, although her voice was soft. "I want you to go and make sure the twins don't kill Sven…"

Snotlout straightened. "Sure thing! This Snotmaster can do anything! I mean, I did just rescue the Chief, after all-"

The two flew off, leaving Astrid and Gobber shaking their heads at the young man's ignorance. Astrid gave Gobber a small wave of her hand, ushering him inside before she closed the door.

"I'm fine- and… no! No bed!" came Hiccup's voice. Astrid smiled and turned about slowly, grinning at the sight of Hiccup sitting indignantly against the wall, his arms crossed and his nose in the air. Stoick sat across from him on a small stool, Toothless curled up at his feet and the dragon crooning dragon laughter.

"Yes, bed. For a week at least." Stoick insisted, waving a finger threateningly. "And you will listen!"

Toothless barked and sat up, giving Hiccup and equally stern look. Hiccup grunted and glared at his dragon.

"Fine. Five days, no more!" Hiccup proclaimed, causing Stoick to shake his head in exasperation.

Astrid stepped forward and smiled before sliding down into another chair at the foot of the bed. Hiccup glanced at her, smiling softly before scooting and trying to lie down comfortably. Astrid leaned forward to help him, but Stoick was already there, carefully lowering Hiccup against the bed so he was lying on his side and not his injured back.

"How do you feel, son?" Stoick asked in concern. "I didn't get to see the wounds…" He lifted his head and quirked and eyebrow at Astrid.

"Bed would definitely be a good idea." She clarified with a nod of her head. "He has several stitches-"

"Ugh nooo." Hiccup moaned, turning his head and burying it into his pillow.

Stoick patted Hiccup's shoulder sympathetically, before standing and going to the back room where Gothi currently was. "Can I take Hiccup home?"

There was the sound of a small shuffle, then Stoick nodded and closed the door again. Astrid watched as he stepped back to the bed, pausing to bend down and wrap and arm around Hiccup's shoulders, even that motion causing the boy to wince.

"Sorry!" Stoick apologized. "But… I'm going to help carry you back home, okay?"

Hiccup did not look happy about this at all, but he honestly didn't have a choice. Astrid smiled at his pout, while Stoick ignored it and lifted the boy up into his arms.

"Alright, goodnight everyone." He stated, casually dismissing them. Gobber spun around and limped out the door, although Astrid hesitated a moment more.

"Hey- Astrid," She looked up into Hiccup's eyes, wondering what it was wrong. "C-could… could you come visit tomorrow? I have a feeling I'm in for a long boring day…"

She grinned. "Try and keep me away."

Stoick smiled then disappeared out the door, a protesting Hiccup in his arms. Toothless also stood and waddled towards the doorway, pausing to give Astrid a little satisfied smirk before passing through the door and blending into the night.

Astrid stared after them, fingering her hand as her mind wandered. Had… had she and Hiccup almost kissed?

She sighed and slumped sadly. Probably not. The last time they had had been… almost two years ago.

Well, if Hiccup ever decided that… that they were right together, he'd let her know, she was certain. She didn't want to push, and she was sure she'd let it known that she likes him… unless he's too shy to notice.

But whatever the case may be, she was ready to wait until he decided the time was right.

The end! I know it's *cough* I REALLY lousy ending… but I honestly have no more to add to this!

So I hope you enjoyed this story! If you haven't read my other ones and are looking for more HTTYD stories to read, by all means feel free to browse my stuff! My earlier firstly posted stories aren't that great…. (as in they're pretty bad blegh) But my most recent stuff is'nt too terrible… XD

But again, thank you for reading, I'm sorry about the Fishlegs mix up, and I'll see you next story! (I plan on going and finishing "Grounded" now :D)

Thanks again! Love you all!

*bows then stands, collects my other current stories, and sets off to finish them XD*

-Kat (FanWriter02)