Breathe- (Set sometime during season one of Dragons: Riders of Berk to season two) Hiccup has a phantom pain, and Astrid takes care of him. Lots of Hiccstrid! Requested by FanWriter02.

"Thanks for coming over," Hiccup said as Astrid entered his home, smiling despite the pouring rain from outside. "I'm not sure why Dad was so insistent on me not being alone. He's only going away for a few days."

It was true. The Berkian chief had to go to a peace meeting which took place all the way over on Meathead Island. Because of the long flight and length of the meeting, Stoick wouldn't return for several days, leaving Hiccup alone. Of course, the overprotective father wasn't going to leave Hiccup unsupervised. No.

So, he asked Astrid to keep an eye on him.

"He's been hiding something from me lately," Stoick had told Astrid, preparing to leave the harbor on Thornado. "I don't like it. Would you mind watching him tonight?"

"Of course," Astrid had agreed. She was worried about her friend as well.

And that was how Astrid came over to Hiccup's hut that night, even though it was pouring rain and freezing.

"I don't mind at all," Astrid replied, squeezing out her wet hair. "Besides, we haven't really talked a lot lately. You're always busy with the Dragon Academy or flying with Toothless. It'll be good to have some quality time together."

Hiccup smiled back nervously. "Sure… make yourself at home."

Astrid looked around Hiccup's home as she walked inside. Hiccup closed the door behind her. "Nice place," the girl said, plopping herself down on a rocking chair. "What do you want to talk about first?"

Yes, Hiccup, what are you hiding? she thought.

Hiccup sighed, limping over.

Wait a second. Limping?

Astrid did a double take. Yes, Hiccup was indeed limping, which was weird because he almost never did. After all, why would he? His prosthetic leg was working just fine. "Are you okay, Hiccup?" she asked, straightening in her seat.

Hiccup winced, and sat down in a chair at the other side of the room. "Yeah, I'm fine!" He forced a smile, acting like everything was fine. But the truth was, Hiccup was having a phantom pain.

Phantom pains were the worst part of having a prosthetic. Not only did hurt so much that it would bring tears to his eyes, but, ODIN was it annoying. And Astrid was here… he couldn't let her know. He had to pretend like everything was fine.

"So, what have you been up to lately?" Hiccup asked, changing the subject. Now I just have to wait for her to stop worrying.

"Nothing really. Just hanging out at the Academy with Stormfly, trying out some new stuff."

"Ah." There was an uncomfortable silence, but it was soon broken by the sound of Hiccup grimacing. Oh, gods, his leg hurt…

Make it stop, please, make it stop.

"Hiccup?" Astrid stood up from the chair, her eyes wide. "I knew you weren't all right. It's your leg… it's hurting, isn't it?

Hiccup swallowed, using all his willpower to not cry out again. "Um, no."

Astrid glared daggers. "Don't you lie to me, Hiccup," she warned, coming over to him. "Or you'll face the wrath of Astrid Hofferson." She paused, noticing Hiccup's face scrunched up in pain. "You're having a phantom pain… aren't you?" That could be her only guess for how Hiccup was reacting right now.

Hiccup stopped before answering. "No, I'm-" He yelped, a wave of pain shooting through his left leg. He couldn't help but grip it in pain, hissing when Astrid touched his arm. No, he couldn't be weak in front of her…

Astrid bit her lip, full of worry. She had never personally been around when Hiccup was having a phantom pain, and especially not when she was alone. From what Stoick had told her about them, she knew they weren't good. I need to help him through this, she thought, nodding. I'll get him through the night.

Hiccup let out another cry of pain. It was like a knife to the heart to Astrid's ears. Her friend was suffering.

"So," she began, starting to massage Hiccup's shoulders to get him to relax. "What does your dad usually do for you during phantom pains? What makes you feel better?"

Hiccup loosened up a little, but he still was tense from the agony raging in his leg. "W-well, he usually helps me up to bed, and, uh…" He trailed off, embarrassed. "Forget it, it's silly. I'm fine!"

"Hiccup, Hiccup, it's okay," Astrid assured him. "Just breathe. Everything will be fine. You can tell me what helps."

The boy winced, clutching his leg tighter than before. "H-he... tells me stories. Mostly of when I was a child. S-some of them are the most r-ridiculous things I've ever heard." He chuckled lightly, but it soon faded. "Like, when I was three, Dad took me fishing, but I went hunting for trolls instead. A-and one other time, I was so scared of the rain that I believed it was a poison from Odin, and I wouldn't leave my father's side until he coaxed me asleep."

Astrid smiled. That did sound like the young Hiccup would have acted. The Hiccup she never took the time to know… the Hiccup that she had never stuck up for… Astrid shook her head. Blaming herself for the past wasn't going to help anything.

"Let's get you upstairs, okay?" Astrid said, helping Hiccup stand.

Hiccup gritted his teeth, clearing fighting back all the pain he was feeling. "Sure." He paused. "You don't have to do this, you know. I'm probably just a bother… you should go back home. It's late, and I'll be fine." He smiled tightly, but Astrid wasn't swayed.

"Are you kidding? It's pouring rain outside and you're all alone, having phantom pains. No way. You're stuck with me, Hiccup, whether you like it or not," Astrid threatened, assisting Hiccup limp up to the beginning of the stairs. "Now for the hard part. Going up."

Hiccup shrugged, still gripping his leg. "It shouldn't be that bad. I've done this hundreds of times before."

"But with phantom pains…?"

"It'll be fine!"

Unfortunately, Hiccup was wrong. It took twenty minutes to get the boy upstairs, and several more minutes to get him inside his room. By the time Astrid had gotten Hiccup to sit down in bed, he was covered in sweat and shivering.

Astrid felt guilty. I hope I didn't make it worse.

"Thanks," grunted Hiccup, scooting up in his bed. "I guess I never could have made it up here without your help… I'm sorry for telling you to leave before."

Astrid tipped her head, leaning against the wall. "You're forgiven. Now, is it story time or what?"

Hiccup reddened. "O-oh… I didn't mean that you had-"

"Shut up and listen," Astrid sighed. Hiccup was going to wear himself down too much if he continued refusing help. He already looked too pale, and Astrid wondered if he had a fever.

So she began her story. It began with a little blonde viking girl who spent the first fifteen years of her life practicing with her ax to kill dragons. She grew up with the other viking children as well, but one was… different.

His name was Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Son of Stoick the Vast, Chief of the Berkians. Hiccup had always been different from the other children… but not always in a bad way. He was highly intelligent- anyone could see that- and he knew when something was too reckless to try out, unlike the other vikings.

And over time, the blonde viking girl found herself almost… jealous. Hiccup, though he had no muscle at all, and could be mistaken for a walking fishbone at times, was special. Astrid learned that she was not. She was exactly like the other vikings: stubborn, rude at times, and mean to Hiccup.

But once the viking girl had gotten to know Hiccup… he wasn't so bad. Sure, he wasn't the strongest or the loudest viking in the crowd, but he always knew exactly what to say to cheer her up, or what to do when everyone else was picking on him.

And the viking girl- Astrid Hofferson-, loved him for that.

When Astrid finished the story, she looked over at Hiccup. He was fast asleep, and had a shining smile upon his face. Astrid felt content with her work. She had done her job by taking care of Hiccup.

With a soft, "Goodnight," she left the room, making sure the door was slightly open in case Hiccup needed anything else.

But even if he did, she would be right there, waiting for him until he woke up.

First story done! YES! *dances around like a maniac*

There'll be more coming soon, so keep a look out! And also, I'm not really sure where Toothless was during all of this. By the time I finished the story, I had written him out... :) But Hictooth will be coming sometime in the following chapters, so don't worry. :)

As always, feel free to leave requests below!

Happy reading!

-thepurplewriter333