Chapter Text
Prologue
Hiccup walked into his home after getting back from flying with Toothless. He was sore and regretting flying so soon after losing his leg. He could barely walk on it. The young boy was using the said dragon as a walking prop.
Together they looked around and saw that Stoick wasn't home yet. However, there was a cauldron hanging over the fire full of stew. Hiccup hobbled over to the table to grab his bowl. Before he could take another step, his entire body felt stiff and tingly. He couldn't move.
Toothless watched his human with concern, crooning worriedly as Hiccup collapsed to the floor and began to violently shake. Unsure of what to do, the Night Fury began pacing and roaring, hoping someone outside would hear him.
Stoick was walking back home after a council meeting when he heard roaring coming from the house. Over the past months, he'd gotten quite good at distinguishing Toothless's roar and warbles. This one meant something was wrong. The chief broke into a run, yelling for someone to go get Gothi and bring her to his home.
He burst through the door and found his son lying on the floor unconscious with Toothless frantically pacing around the boy. He rushed over to his son and knelt down looking for any external reason for his collapse, but found none.
Carefully, the chief lifted Hiccup up off the floor and placed him in the bed. Just as he was doing so, Hiccup started to come to.
"Dad?" Hiccup asked wearily, unsure if it was actually his father he was seeing.
"I'm right here, son," Stoick reassured. "Gothi is on her way. What happened? Is it your leg?"
Hiccup shook his head. "It hurts, but I don't think it's the problem. I was, um, I was getting a bowl when suddenly I couldn't move. I felt as if I'd be struck by lightning. Next thing I know, you're here and I'm in bed."
Stoick stared down at his son, concern plastering his face. He'd heard stories like before over the years. If it was what he thought it was, Hiccup would have more than a missing leg to worry about. Best to wait for Gothi to determine it before he went on scaring the boy. "Probably just exhaustion," he lied. "Some herbal broth and some rest, you should be fine."
Hiccup got the sense his father wasn't telling him something, but said nothing. He felt too weak to push the matter. Besides, Gothi would know what's wrong soon enough.
A few minutes later, Gothi and Gobber arrived.
After much poking and prodding, Gothi had determined that it wasn't his leg that caused his collapse and that it had something to do with his brain. An invisible disorder that would require daily tonics to keep it at bay. It was unsure if it was permanent or would fade with time. Only time could tell.
Gothi encouraged Hiccup to tell his friends so that they wouldn't be caught off-guard or freak out if the disorder reared its ugly head in front of them. However, Hiccup knew he couldn't tell them or anyone. He was finally getting a bit of respect and treated like an actual Viking. If he went around telling people his brain was broken, he'd be an outcast again. No, it was better to hide it from everyone until he was sure he wouldn't lose his friends.
End Prologue
Present Day
Hiccup and Toothless led Sleuther to a pen for the night. Hiccup decided not to lock it in case the Triple Stryke decided to leave. They weren't about to force him to stay. He deserved better.
"Come on, bud, let's grab a snack and go to bed," Hiccup suggested as he climbed onto Toothless.
They flew down into the clubhouse and began to raid the storage for fruits, fish and perhaps a jug of mead. Hopefully, Snotlout didn't take the last of it. After the past few days, Hiccup needed to get his nerves under control. His body was still shaking with anger and pain.
Being pushed around and having a way too tight manacle around your one good leg while being forced to watch your best friend fight, doesn't make for a happy Hiccup.
"Ah-ha!" Hiccup exclaimed as he pulled out the last jug of mead. It had been hiding behind a barrel of fish. The young Viking loaded a satchel full of apples, grapes and fish and carried the unopened jug in his hand. He climbed back onto Toothless and flew off to their hut.
Hiccup laid the small bounty out on his bed and began to undress. Within five minutes he was wearing only his trousers and prosthetic leg. The latter didn't stay on much longer. As soon as he sat on the bed he took it off and laid it on the nearby table.
He looked down at his body. He could see day-old bruises running down his left arm and side. His right ankle was an ugly purplish black and swollen. He didn't dare try flexing it, it was already hurting, no need to cause himself more pain.
Toothless sniffed the ankle then looked up at his rider, warbling in concern.
"I'm okay, Bud," Hiccup reassured, patting the dragon's head. "I just have to try my best to stay off it for a few days."
"Are you sure that's all?" A voice asked from the staircase.
Hiccup being Hiccup momentarily forgot he had taken his prosthetic off and that his only good leg wasn't all that good, stood up to turn around only to fall face first onto the floor. The dragon rider groaned from the pain racking his body as he tried to turn himself over, only to find that he couldn't.
"Need a hand?" the voice offered.
"That would be most welcome," Hiccup replied. "Thank you, Astrid."
Astrid turned Hiccup onto his back with the help of Toothless and got him back into bed. "No problem."
Astrid examined her friend from head to toe. "You look terrible."
Hiccup reached for the jug of mead. "I feel terrible."
"Anything I can do to help?" Astrid offered.
"Yeah, um, I have a medicine bag on the top shelf above my desk. Could you get it?" Hiccup wondered.
Without a word, just a quick nod, Astrid headed to the bottom floor of Hiccup's hut to get the medicine kit.
Hiccup carefully tossed the fish to Toothless, who greedily gulped it down. He, himself, just picked at the picks, not feeling the hunger he had moments ago.
After a couple of minutes, Astrid returned, bag in hand. "This it?" she asked holding up the red satchel with a big "M" sewn into the flap.
Hiccup nodded. "Yeah. That's it." He held his hand out for the bag.
Arstrid looked at him sceptically. "I can help if you want."
Hiccup really didn't want her rummaging through the bag, but also didn't want to fight her on the matter. Thankfully the tonics were color-coded instead of labeled with words. "Fine."
"Where do you want me to start?" Astrid asked as opened up the medicine bag.
"Can you hand me the blue corked vial?" Hiccup asked, hoping she wouldn't ask what it was for.
The blond warrior sat on the edge of the bed and began rummaging through the bag until she found the vial Hiccup had described. She handed it over and watched as he practically chugged it. "What's it for?"
Hiccup swallowed the vile-tasting tonic. "For pain, mostly. I only really take it when my leg is bothering me," he lied, thinking it placate her for the time being.
Astrid nodded, accepting the answer as truth. "Anything else?"
"There's a salve in there marked with a red cork," Hiccup answered. "If you rub on my ankle, it'll help with the swelling. After that, we can wrap my ankle up with one of the bandage rolls"
Astrid dug through the bag until she found what she needed. "Will rubbing it in hurt you?"
Hiccup nodded as he leaned his head against the headboard and picked up one of the apples. "Only for a couple minutes."
He placed the apple in his mouth and got ready to bite down.
Astrid looked at him. It was true Hiccup was no stranger to pain. He'd lost a flipping leg for Thor's sake. But looking at him brace himself against the headboard with an apple placed firmly in his mouth, made her wonder just how often Hiccup was getting injured. She got her answer as soon as she uncorked the jar. It was nearly empty.
She dipped two fingers to get into the jar and pulled out a small glob. Just enough for his ankle. She could feel a cool numbing sensation coming from the cream. She figured Hiccup had developed this numbing cream that worked better than any kind of salve Gothi could whip up.
The blonde teenager took in a deep breath and started to rub in the cream. Hiccup's groans were muffled by the apple, but she understood the message. She was hurting him and had to hurry to finish the job.
Astrid quickly rubbed the cream in and wrapped up Hiccup's foot and ankle. She looked up and saw that the apple had fallen from his mouth and that he had tears streaming down his face. If he noticed them, he didn't let on. She wondered how he could do this by himself. It seemed to take so much energy out of him.
She got up and quickly grabbed a rag out of the bag. She was getting ready to wipe his tears of pain away when she noticed something else. Hiccup was staring off into Thor knows where. His mind was somewhere else entirely. She took this as an opportunity to treat the rest of his bruises.
She took the same cream and rubbed it on his arm and along his side. He didn't scream this time. Afterwards, she cleared the food off the bed then repositioned him so that he was lying on his back and pulled the covers over him.
By the time she was done, Hiccup seemed to have fallen asleep. She blew out the candles and left the hut. She climbed onto Stormfly, who had been waiting for her. Together they flew over to Fishlegs's hut. Hoping he was still awake.
She had questions that needed to be answered.