Prepare to cry! 🥺
My fave chapter yet! 💛
Also longest chapter.
Set between RTTE and HTTYD 2.
Requests are welcome x
Hope you enjoy:)
***
"I'll race you." Astrid challenged.
"It's on." Hiccup chuckled.
Both quickly dashed forward. Toothless was a fraction ahead of Stormfly, who was catching up fast. Much to Hiccup's irritation, Astrid was starting to give him a run for his money.
The equally competitive Vikings were flying at lightning speed as they flew further and further from their home island until it disappeared from their view. They could see their dragons growing tired and agreed that it was a tie.
They were both so busy giggling, they almost failed to notice the sky darkening rather suddenly. Without any warning, rain began pouring down on them both, soaking them within minutes.
"We should get back!" Astrid shouted before they both bolted forward through the raging storm they suddenly found themselves in.
The thunder raged through the skies as the soaked Vikings dodged multiple strikes.
Hiccup's heart jumped into his throat when he heard a scream from a fair distance behind him. He spun around to see Astrid plummeting towards a large rock formation in the middle of the ocean.
Hiccup froze, unable to react for a split second before signaling Toothless to catch the falling blonde. He couldn't see far in front of him and he knew that he was too late. They would never catch her in time. All he could do now was pray to the gods that she was alive.
Toothless bulleted through the rain, tumbling as he reached the ground. Hiccup had been thrown from the Night Fury's back, but that didn't slow him down for a second.
He quickly looked around before he finally caught sight of the young blonde, lying on her back motionless in the mud that had begun to form in the rain.
"Astrid!" He shouted, rushing to her side. He dropped to his knees.
He gasped at the sight of Astrid's mangled arm. She had clearly landed on her arm and rolled onto her back.
Hiccup knew he had to get Astrid back to Berk, but he couldn't be sure of the extent of her injuries, meaning moving her could potentially worsen an already terrible situation.
She had some visible scrapes and bruises. A large gash across her left eye, blood soaking through her leggings just below her left knee, her right arm practically hanging off. It was difficult to see much through the mud she was covered in.
It didn't take long before he noticed Astrid wasn't breathing. He didn't hesitate and immediately started pressing against her chest, blowing into her mouth every few seconds.
"Come on, Astrid. Don't you dare die on me!" He cried.
"Toothless, cover!" Hiccup requested.
Toothless immediately spread his wings to protect them from the rain as Stormfly found her way to the scene. She gave a concerned squawk as she began to nuzzle at her rider.
"I know, Stormfly..." Hiccup said calmy. 'But you need to back up.'
The Nadder looked at Hiccup and then back down to her rider before taking a few steps back.
"Come on, Astrid... Please." Hiccup said losing his breath, still pressing against Astrid's chest, his fingers slowly turning blue from the cold.
Astrid suddenly took a sharp intake of breath but remained unconscious. Hiccup, let out a sigh of relief. But, they weren't out of the woods yet.
Hiccup still couldn't move her without knowing just how badly she was hurt. He slowly lifted her muddy shirt, not too high, just high enough to see the large bruise spreading across her abdomen.
Stormfly slowly reapproached and began to sniff around her rider's head before letting out a worried squawk.
Hiccup gently placed his hand on the back of Astrid's head, before removing it to find his hand now covered in blood. Astrid's blood.
"Okay..." Hiccup shivered. "That's not good."
He gave Stormfly a quick check over to make sure she was okay.
He carefully moved Astrid's injured arm over her waist.
"Toothless!" Hiccup signaled. His dragon took this as a hint and immediately bowed his head.
Hiccup stood up, scooping Astrid in his arms. He positioned her on the Night Fury's back before mounting behind her and holding her in place.
"Come on, Stormfly."
Toothless quickly bolted towards Berk. Hiccup tightened his grip on the blonde Viking to prevent her from slipping. Before long, Berk was finally within sight.
"STORMFLY... DISTRESS CALL!" Hiccup shouted through the storm. The Nadder quickly obeyed and quickly shot into the air twice, to warn the riders back on Berk that they needed medical help.
Astrid shivered as the cold wind started to bite. Hiccup leaned over her and held her close in an attempt to shelter her from the wind and rain.
"Gently, Bud." Hiccup told his dragon as they landed in the center of Berk, where the riders had already gathered with Stoick, Lotus, and Gothi.
Hiccup wasted no time before sliding off his dragon with an unconscious Astrid in his arms.
"What happened?!" Heather cried. As they rushed to Astrid's hut.
"We went for a flight and got caught in the storm." Hiccup explained as Heather opened the door to the hut allowing Hiccup to enter. "She fell. I couldn't get to her in time." He said as he raced to Astrid's bedroom to place her gently on the bed.
Gothi joined the young couple while the other riders waited anxiously in the large room outside the bedroom door. Hiccup refused to take his eyes off the blonde Viking, lying motionless. He took hold of Astrid's left hand, which looked uninjured, and gripped tightly tracing circles with his thumb, not caring that he was covered in mud and the blood from Astrid's head that had been leaning against his chest on the ride back.
Hiccup stared as Gothi quickly got to work tending to Astrid.
Gothi explained that she needed Hiccup to leave to assess her injuries. Hiccup hesitated. He planted a kiss on Astrid's forehead, the only spot that wasn't covered in mud, before heading out the door.
The riders all looked up as Hiccup entered.
"Is she okay?" Fishlegs asked.
Hiccup finally looked up from the spot on the floor he was focusing on and towards his father.
"She's not telling me anything." He said before returning his gaze to the ground.
"Hiccup? You're bleeding!" Heather said, finally noticing the blood seeping through his shirt. The same blood that covered his hands.
"I'm fine Heather, it's not mine." He explained, folding his arms, grasping his shirt at the sides. He wasn't fine. He was far from fine. Not only was the love of his life currently on her death bed but Hiccup had finally slowed down long enough to feel the bruise growing on his hip, from being thrown from his dragon.
"We should get you cleaned up." Heather suggested.
"I wanna stay here."
"You should at least clean up your hands. You can use the basin in my room." Lotus gestured to her bedroom door, opposite Astrid's.
Hiccup nodded and Heather took him by the shoulder, leading him into the room.
Hiccup closed the door behind him and quickly sank to the floor. He didn't cry, his expression just remained the same, empty.
Heather grabbed the basin of water and the cloth beside it before heading to where Hiccup was sitting.
She noticed as Hiccup winced in pain. He tried to hide it but Heather wasn't fooled. "Hiccup? Are you okay?" She asked.
"I'm fine." He replied bluntly.
"No, you're not." Heather took Hiccup's hands and placed them into the water, watching as the water changed color. "Hiccup?"
"Heather, I'm fine!" Hiccup said. Heather finished cleaning Hiccup's hands, before grabbing the damp cloth and beginning to wipe the mud from his face. Hiccup winced again as his left hand clutched his shirt by the bruise on his right hip.
"Okay... Hiccup you're hurt. You need to tell someone." Heather told him.
Hiccup didn't respond.
Heather sighed. "Will you at least let me check it out?"
Hiccup paused for a moment before nodding his head.
Heather quickly finished cleaning up his face. Hiccup stretched out, allowing Heather to lift the right side of his shirt, revealing a large black bruise. She gently pulled the top of his leggings, folding it down to reveal that the bruise was a lot bigger than it first appeared.
"Hiccup, this is serious." Heather reported. "You need to tell someone."
"I will." Hiccup reassured her, pulling his shirt back down. "Just not now. Right now, I just want to get back to Astrid."
Heather stood up and offered Hiccup a hand up which he took, putting as little weight as possible on his right side. Testing his balance on his prosthetic left leg.
They headed back out the door and were immediately met by Gothi, who grabbed Hiccup's hand and dragged him into Astrid's bedroom.
Hiccup immediately rushed to Astrid, who was starting to stir. Covered with bandages, one on her leg, one on her left wrist, one around her head, and a splint holding her right arm in place.
Gothi explained her injuries. A broken right arm, a sprained left wrist, a sprained left ankle, two broken ribs on the left side, and a severe head injury. She would be in a lot of pain for a few weeks, no flying until her arm has healed and no intense exercise until she had healed completely.
Hiccup thanked Gothi before she left.
***
The most horrifying, piercing, heartbreaking scream filled the room and echoed through the hut as Astrid finally woke up enough to feel the most gut-wrenching pain radiate through her body.
"Astrid, Astrid, it's okay!" Hiccup sat on the bed beside her.
"Hiccup?"
Hiccup gave a sigh of relief that she still remembered him.
"Shhhh...I'm right here." He gently started to rub circles on her back, since it was just about the only thing left uninjured.
"What happened?" Astrid asked as she began to calm down.
"You fell off Stormfly. I couldn't reach you in time."
"You better not be blaming yourself." She gave Hiccup a side look. Of course, he was.
"Don't start." Hiccup joked.
Astrid gave a small smile. But it faded fast as her stomach began to twist and turn. She sat forward ever so slightly. Bad idea. Her stomach churned at the sudden movement, the searing pain not helping any. She pressed her lips firmly together.
"Hicc-... Hiccup." She rasped out.
Hiccup quickly grabbed the bucket Gothi had placed beside the bed and held it in front of Astrid. It was perfect timing, the second the bucket was placed in front of her she immediately began to empty her guts into it.
Hiccup held the bucket in place with one hand while the other was attempting to rub her back while holding her hair back, as most of her braid had come undone.
After about an hour of constant retching, Astrid finally drifted off. Hiccup watched her sleep for a while, before slipping out to clean up and to fill the others in. Stoick had sent Snotlout and the Twins home as they were beginning to get on his nerves. While everyone who remained sat impatiently.
Everybody's eyes shot up as Hiccup entered the room.
"Shhhhh." He warned. If they woke Astrid now, they would be eating dragon riders for breakfast.
"How is she?" Heather whispered.
"Concussed." Hiccup began to explain, gesturing at Lotus to go in to see her daughter. "A few broken ribs, both arms out of commission, a lower leg injury, severe head injury, some nasty gashes, and ALOT of bruising." He said, folding his arms, avoiding eye contact.
"Oh, gods..." Heather sighed. "Are you okay?"
He had finally cracked, and he couldn't hold it in any longer. Hiccup shook his head before collapsing in her arms, exhausted.
"He must feel awful." Fishlegs said to Heather.
"I...I think awful is still coming." Hiccup began to sob. "Right now... It's worse." He closed his eyes as he and Heather slowly fell to the ground. "Right now, I'm just trying to keep from dying." He began crying hysterically.
Heather just held him close.
***