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Hiccup stuttered during interviews. Some of his fans (or a lot) found it endearing. His critics found it annoying and reason enough to say he was a bad actor.
Hiccup Haddock was not a bad actor. He just hated interviews, and had had a stutter all his life that he couldn’t seem to get rid of. At this point, he didn’t really want to get rid of it. It was a part of who he was, just like his missing leg and prosthesis.
Today was a bad day with the pain. He’d been having to use his cane to alleviate some of it, and was glad to be sitting now, even if it was for an interview. He was promoting his new How to Train Your Dragon movie, which was a big hit for fans of fantasy.
This interview was being filmed rather than being in front of an audience. He’d left the crowd back at the red carpet, and eagerly accepted the glass of water one of the assistants offered him. Sometimes all the noise and speaking could become a bit much.
This interviewer was a woman named Amy Anderson. Hiccup had never been interviewed by her before, but he’d watched a lot of videos of them just to get a feel for her. She could be persistent with her questions, but was otherwise okay.
“Long day?” she asked in way of a greeting.
Hiccup was fiddling with the strap on the handle of his cane. “Y-you could say that.” He was glad the chair he was in was plush and comfortable. He needed it after all the walking and standing he’d been doing today. He put on a smile, hiding any fatigue he was feeling. “I love seeing my fans though.”
“And they certainly love seeing you! That crowd outside! Wow!”
Hiccup’s smile was very genuine now. He did appreciate all the support he and his movies got.
Amy leaned forward in her chair, dirty blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. “So, tell me, Hiccup, how long have you been working with Toothless? You worked together on the first movie. What happened after that?”
“Well, w-we kind of formed a bond,” Hiccup explained, happily thinking back to the flight he’d had with Toothless that morning. “It’s become more than just a job. We live together, fly together—”
“You live together?” Amy cut him off. “With a dragon?”
Hiccup shrugged. “It’s not the first time it’s happened. Besides, we’re friends. He’s pretty harmless, actually.”
“So all those teeth and growling on screen are really just for show?”
“Oh yeah. T-Toothless is a big softie.” Hiccup took a drink of his water. He hoped the interview was going well. It was kind of hard for him to tell.
“Now, how does flying together work?” Amy questioned. “Especially with…” she gestured to his left leg… his prosthetic one.
“Um, I mean…” Hiccup scratched at the back of his head. Most interviewers did not bring up his disability. It wasn’t something he liked to talk about. Shouldn’t she have been told that before he walked in here? “It doesn’t really change much for flying.”
“A little bird told me that’s the reason you got into acting,” she said, and Hiccup tensed, now clutching the armrests of his seat. Where was she going with this?
“That you were going to fly competitively but got into an accident and needed your leg amputated.”
Hiccup was aghast. To just say it so plainly in front of a camera! And where had she gotten that information?! Someone must have told her, some rival of his or something.
Right now, he didn’t have the brain space to figure it out. He was busy trying to form a coherent answer to this prying.
He couldn’t come up with one.
“Stop the interview.”
“What?” Amy looked bewildered.
Hiccup tore off the little earpiece microphone they’d given him, reached for his cane.
“I said to stop the interview!” It wasn’t like Hiccup to yell, not at all. God, he very suddenly hoped this wouldn’t be put out there. He needed to talk to his agent about this information Amy had had, and this mess of an interview.
Hiccup rose so quickly that he forgot to put some of his weight on his cane and stumbled. He clutched it tightly in his right hand, panting. And, without another word, he marched (limped, rather) out of the room. He needed to make a few phone calls.
Hiccup had managed to get his agent on the phone in time to make Amy Anderson sign an NDA. She was not going to release the video, and she was not going to go around talking about what she’d said. Yes, it was the truth, but Hiccup didn’t want it to be well known. If people knew he’d had a flying accident that had permanently maimed him, he could lose his place in this movie.
He could lose Toothless.
Now, Hiccup was back in his hotel, resting. Or, trying to.
He should have been sleeping, given all that had happened that day and that he had more to do tomorrow… and that it was 3 am. But he just couldn’t relax. He was trying to make a list in his head of all the people who knew about his accident, and who on Earth would spill it to an interviewer to throw him off.
With a sinking feeling in his gut, he opened his phone to a previously blocked number. He’d most likely just figured it out.
Hiccup’s thumb hovered over the call button. He hadn’t heard from this man in well over a year, and he’d wanted to keep it that way. But if he was really starting to get involved and trying to ruin his career, shouldn’t he do something about it?
He could just have his agent handle it.
But no, that would never work and he knew it. This man liked making his dealings personal.
With anxiety burning in his gut, Hiccup pressed the button and held his phone to his ear.
Hiccup didn’t know what time it was in England, but his call was answered on the first ring.
“Hello, darling! Lovely to hear from you!”
“What do you want, Viggo?” Hiccup demanded coldly, not in the mood for any of his games.
“You tell me,” Viggo responded coolly. “You’re the one who called.”
“Why did you tell that interviewer about my accident?” Hiccup didn’t feel at all like this was a false accusation.
Viggo didn’t deny it. “You think she’s the only one I told? How naive of you.”
Hiccup sat up straight from the bed, pinched at the bridge of his nose. He had to school himself into calmness, into taking deep breaths.
“I-I-I thought we told each other we would be amicable,” Hiccup said. “That we wouldn’t get in each other’s way or even mention that we were together.”
“And you thought my agreement to that was true?” Viggo laughed. “People lie all the time, my dear.”
“Why now?” Hiccup’s voice was a frustrated growl. “What changed?”
“Money,” Viggo answered, and it was the answer Hiccup should have expected. Viggo’s greed was one of the big reasons that Hiccup had left him in the first place. “Your movie is already making more than mine. I assumed that would mean you had a bigger paycheck.”
Hiccup snorted. “You’re just a greedy, selfish bastard who can’t see life past his own nose.” It felt good to say those words. They were much deserved.
“Well, at least I know what I’m doing.”
“What do you mean?”
“It means, my dear Hiccup, that I am going to sabotage your entire career.”
Hiccup’s heart stopped and his mouth went dry.
“Why? What do—” he had to pause to lick his lips— “what do you want?”
“The answer is simple enough.”
“Just say it!” Hiccup really wasn’t in the mood for any of this. He was irritated and tired and quite frankly, trying his best not to have a panic attack.
“You,” Viggo said, voice having softened. “All I want is you.”
Hiccup didn’t know what to say. Maybe there was nothing to say.
“Go screw yourself,” Hiccup said, proud of himself for not stuttering, for sounding firm and angry.
Then, he hung up before Viggo could laugh at his petty insult. Or, before he could hear the laugh at least. He was sure he was getting amusement out of this whether or not he could hear it.
Hiccup slammed his phone down on the bed and put his head in his hands. Any hope of sleep was gone.
God, I wish I had Toothless. For safety reasons, the dragon wasn’t always allowed on promotional tours, and it drove Hiccup crazy. He loved him. He needed him.
And he needed to call his agent when it was no longer the middle of the night.
With a groan, Hiccup flopped back down onto the pillows.
I never should have gotten involved with that man.
He closed his eyes, but regret was not a very good sleeping partner.