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The vast blue skies were endless before him, as Hiccup flew with Toothless aimlessly above the clouds. Dazzled by the view and the gentle frozen air caressing his face, the boy closed his eyes for a brief second, letting his grip on the saddle get somewhat loose. That was his mistake. One sudden gush of wind took Toothless by surprise, the prosthetic tail fin closed up, and the dragon began flailing around the air, tossing Hiccup, who had let go of the saddle, off of him.
The fall was long, but Hiccup passed out before he'd hit the ground. The adrenaline, mixed with a gut-twisting fear was too much for him to bear.
Stoick hadn't ran that quickly in a long time, and it was for the same reason really. Last time he'd ran around so frantically was after Hiccup's battle with the Red Death. And now, he was informed that Hiccup was found unconscious on the shores of Berk, alongside his dragon. His son had gotten hurt again.
"Why, why can't he keep still and out of trouble for a second?" Pacing around the Great Hall, he was talking to his friend, Gobber, who was trying to calm him down for the past half an hour.
"He's a boy, Stoick, a child. Do you know any children who can sit still? Also I don't think I have to remind you of your own young days."
"This and that are two completely different things, Gobber. I didn't ride a dragon around." Stoick turned back to face him and walked back to his chair. Sitting down, he took a sip of his drink.
"That dragon saved Hiccup's life two times now."
"That is... irrelevant." He let out a long sigh. "What do I do with him?"
"Look, Chief. Why don't you go check up on the boy and I'll do the chiefing for today. How's that sound?" Stoick agreed to Gobber's proposal without giving it much thought. It wasn't the first time he'd leave his duties to Gobber, and he trusted him. Hiccup was a priority, and he was already feeling bad for leaving him to consult with Gobber.
Stoick thanked his friend and hurried back to his house. The fireplace was still burning lively, providing warmth in that cold winter noon, and Stoick threw a couple of wood chunks into it before climbing up the stairs to get to his son's bedroom.
Toothless was resting away from his stone bed and next to Hiccup's, cooing gently by his side. At that scene, Stoick took back the words he'd previously spoken. The dragon was his son's best friend, his protector. He couldn't blame it. He could, though, blame himself for not having his eye on his child. For not paying close enough attention. Before Stoick realized he was tearing up, a hoarse voice kicked him out of his thoughts.
"Dad...?" Hiccup blinked a couple of times, shook his head slowly, tried to get a grasp of his surroundings. Toothless kicked his hand and his face, making excited cooing noises.
"Hiccup! How are you feeling, lad?"
"Uh, sore?" Hiccup let out a dry laugh. "I feel tired and, well, hurt..." his words were dragged and blurry, his eyes half closed.
"You injured your head, Gothi said to not let you sleep again."
"But I'm so sleepy..."
"I know, son, I know." Stoick caressed his son's hair as gently as humanly possible, and Hiccup's eyelids slid closed once more, as his stable breaths were the only sound in the room.
"You shouldn't have let him sleep." Gobber sighed.
"I couldn't not let him. You should have seen him, he was so pale and he looked so tired... he was awake only for a minute. Last time he was like this he'd barely escaped death, Gobber. I can't lose him."
"Stoick..."
"Look, just take care of all the... chiefing tomorrow too. I have to care for him."
Both men looked at the sleeping figure on the bed. But little did they know, he wasn't asleep. Hiccup most certainly wasn't asleep at the time. Rather, he was awake, listening to everything his father was saying.
Oh how awful it felt. He was always causing so much trouble to his father. Even when they were in war with the dragons, he'd always find something to destroy, with or without willing to do something like that. And now he had to set aside his duties to take care of him. That wasn't supposed to happen. "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few", that was what his father had always told him. His father wasn't supposed to abandon his work for him, no.
Hiccup clenched his teeth and waited. He waited for both men to walk outside his room, and then he opened his eyes, brought his hands on his face, and cried, as silently as humanly possible. He was in pain, and he felt guilt climbing up his throat. A sob, one so quiet that even Toothless barely paid any attention to it, escaped his lips. The dragon cooed and purred against his human, he rubbed his snout on the boy's folded arms. Had Hiccup been able to get up, he'd have given Toothless a long lasting hug. Instead, he only settled on crying. He hadn't let himself cry that much since he'd lost his leg. This time, just as he'd done back then, he got lost in it. So lost, he didn't even hear Stoick enter the room.
"Hiccup!" The boy flinched, snapped out of his guilt-filled thoughts and looked wide-eyed at his father's worried face.
"I..." He stuttered "I'm so sorry..." Stoick rushed to the bed, sat beside him.
"Why are you apologizing, son?"
"I... You're setting aside your duties for me, your work for the village is more important than me." Hiccup still hadn't removed his hands from his face. "I've caused enough trouble..." his voice still sore and quiet, every word caused a pain on his ribs.
Stoick lost it for a moment, didn't know what to do. He remained silent, and then, without thinking, his movements as slow and gentle as a summer's light breeze, he pulled his son towards him and embraced him, paying extraordinary attention to not hurt him.
"Hiccup, son, you are the best thing that has happened to me. You are mine and your mother's treasure. I may have lost her, but I still have you, and I'd rather be lost myself than let anything happen to you. My duties and my work are insignificant compared to the pain you must be feeling. I swear, even through all the mistakes and harsh words of the past, there wasn't a single day where I wasn't proud of you. You should never think otherwise. You belong on Berk, the village you saved risking your own life, you belong with us, with me, Hiccup, not only as the future heir, but as my Son, too."
Hiccup's breath was caught in his throat. It took him a minute to process his father's words. And when he did, after a deep breath, he ignored the pain and burst into tears, letting out sobs, leaning on his father's chest.
"I love you dad..."
And Stoick only gently patted his back, let a whisper escape his mouth.
"Me too, son."