Archive of Our Own

Hiccup had his nose in his journal as he walked across the deck, frowning down at the map he’d drawn of the last island they stopped at for supplies. His head shot up just in time for Erik to run up beside him and try to launch an arm around Hiccup’s shoulders but he ducked instinctively, dancing away as he snapped the journal shut. “Nice try, Erik!” He grinned as the other man stumbled with a laugh. 

“I almost had ya that time!” He cheered with a cocky grin. “Yer so lost in that journal, ya almost didn’t see me coming! Drawing Viggo again?”

Heat crawled up Hiccup’s face and he glared at the man. “No… not this time…”

“Not this time he says.” Erik shot a look over his shoulder as Bjorn approached, slinging an arm over his shoulder. “Hear that Bjorn? He wasn’t drawin’ the Cap’n this time.”

Bjorn grumbled and handed over a couple coppers and Hiccup shook his head with a fond roll of his eyes. “I was drafting a map of the last island we weighed anchor at. There’s some cave systems there I’d like to check out next time I get the opportunity.”

“Another solo outing?” Bjorn pouted, “ya get ta have all the fun.”

“Well, maybe if you had your own dragons, you could join me.”

It was Erik’s turn to roll his eyes fondly. “One step at a time, Dragon Boy. We still ain’t quite over our years huntin’ em.”

Hiccup shrugged and tucked his notebook into his belt. “You’ll get there.” He was sure of that much. Everyone that had stayed with Viggo’s crew after he officially joined them were committed, they just needed time. “What’s for dinner tonight?”

“Eel soup and porridge.” Bjorn grinned at Hiccup’s grimace. “What? Turnin’ yer nose up at it? Brooks’ll ‘ave a field day with ya.”

Hiccup huffed. “You don’t have to throw me to Brooks, I’m the last person to waste perfectly good food. I just… don’t really like eel.”

“Cause the dragons don’t like it?” Erik grinned.

“That’s different.” Hiccup corrected easily. “Most dragons can’t eat eel, it makes them sick.”

“Oh, like Eel Pox. Ain’t that only caused by like… poisonous eels though?”

“Well… for us, yeah, but they’re way more susceptible to it. Any eel will do it for them. Toothless ate one once on accident when we got attacked by them and it was not fun. I just don’t like the way the stuff tastes. It’s like fishy and chewy, and somehow still kinda slimy?” He waved it off dismissively. “Too much like eating a nightcrawler.”

“... Why do you know what Nightcrawlers taste like?”

“Uh…” Hiccup shook his head and followed the two sailors down to the mess deck. “Don’t worry about it.”

The three got in line for their portions of food, and scanned the crowd for Arne, who was already seated at their usual table with a bowl brought over for him. Hiccup dropped into the seat next to him and Erik and Bjorn practically crashed into each other across the table. “Arne!” Bjorn cheered. “See anythin’ cool up in the nest today?”

“Nah. Hiccup chose not to do any of his fancy flyin’ today.”

Hiccup laughed and started mashing the portion of eel into his porridge, hoping to mask it with the gruel. “Come on, sometimes Toothless and I just want a relaxing glide. I got a nice sketch of the ship out of it, I’m thinking of giving it to Viggo later.”

“Ooo, lemme see.” Arne leaned over as Hiccup pulled out his journal and showed them the intricate drawing of Freedom’s Edge he’d done that morning, with the sun rising over the water behind it. Arne and Erik both whistled and Bjorn snatched the book from Hiccup to get a closer look.

“Damn. I’m kinda jealous now, why can’t I do this?”

“Well if you’d practice more, maybe you could.” Hiccup snatched his journal back and shoveled a bite into his mouth, trying not to dwell too much on the taste as he reached for his water. “Come on, Bjorn, I even gave you some charcoal sticks to practice with.”

“I been practicin!” he sniffed, chin jutted out as he shoveled his own dinner into his mouth. “I just thought I’d be better by now is all.”

Erik quirked a brow, “wait, you been learnin’ ta draw? Why?”

“Cause ya like Hiccup’s work so much.” Arne grinned, pointing his spoon at Erik. “Talked ‘bout it so much ya gone and made the poor man jealous of all the attention.”

“Oh, piss off!” Erik rolled his eyes and focused back on his own bowl, ignoring Bjorn’s stuttering blush while Hiccup and Arne laughed. The conversation passed easily between them, but slowly Hiccup was beginning to lose interest in it. He frowned as he began to pick at his bowl, suddenly feeling nauseous as he became keenly aware of the way the boat swayed in the water. 

Was he getting motion sick? He hadn’t done that since his first real week on the ship. Erik had a good laugh at his expense, and Arne had poked fun at him for not being able to handle a little rocking when he did barrel rolls in the air almost every day. Even Viggo looked amused while he guided Hiccup to rest in his room and gave him a little bag of ginger candies to chew on when it got too bad. Thankfully, he’d found his sea legs shortly after and it hadn’t been an issue since. 

He dropped the spoon into his half eaten dinner and reached for his water, surprised by the amount of effort it suddenly took to lift the cup. Nursing the cool liquid did nothing to settle his stomach, so he reached into the small pouch at his hip for one of the ginger candies and popped it into his mouth, chewing slow. 

Apparently, his predicament hadn’t gone unnoticed as the conversation slowly died around him.

“Hiccup?” Arne prodded his arm to catch his attention. “Ya good? Yer lookin a bit green there.”

Bjorn smirked. “Boat gettin’ to ya again?”

Hiccup rolled his eyes and stood. “Relax, I’m fine… I’ll be back in a minute, I’m just going to go get some air.” He turned a sharp gaze on Bjorn and smirked. “You smell.”

Hiccup left the table, savoring Bjorn’s indignant squawk while Arne and Erik howled with laughter. He made his way to the stairs that led above deck, pressing a hand against the wall to keep himself steady while his stomach protested the effort of movement. When he opened the door leading out to the main deck, he expected the salty ocean air to help.

He expected wrong. 

Hiccup’s stomach lurched and he bolted for the edge of the rail, vomiting every bite of dinner and then some. His throat burned and he gripped the rail tight, biting back a groan as he thanked the Gods the deck was mostly empty. He wiped his mouth as Toothless bounded over from wherever he’d decided to nap. His brother sniffed him and snarled low.

You stink of eel.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and wiped his mouth, spitting over the edge. “Well, that was dinner tonight… ugh, tastes even worse the second time around.” His brother crooned in concern and bumped his head under Hiccup’s arm as he heaved again, until the only thing coming up was bile. He placed a shaky hand on Toothless’ head and rubbed his fingers over warm scales. “I’m alright, Toothless…”

“Hiccup?”

Erik’s voice called out and Hiccup groaned again as he leaned more against the rail. He’d rather Erik not see him like this. 

Footsteps ran up behind him and the man put a hand on his shoulder, frowning. “Hey, you alright? Yer not lookin’ so good…”

“I’m fine…” Hiccup mumbled, trying to push Erik off as he stood, only for the world to lurch around him. Erik caught him before he could hit the deck and Hiccup looked away. He didn’t want to see the pooling concern in Erik’s eyes over his wellbeing. His vision swam, like everything around him was suddenly underwater and heaved another shaky breath as he pulled away and grasped for the rails in an effort to keep himself upright.

“Yeah, and ah’m the Goddess Freyja; at least tell me a convincing lie.” He felt Erik’s hands on him again as the world started to fade around him. “Hey, look at me.”

Hiccup lifted his gaze blearily and tried to shove off the rails again. “I don’t… feel…” his legs gave out from under him and suddenly he was in someone’s arms. 

Erik’s arms? That was embarrassing. The man was never going to let him live this down.

“-cup! Hiccup!”

Was someone calling his name? 

“Somebody get Seamus!”

Was someone hurt? That couldn’t be good… he should really… deal with that.

Viggo paced around his office, gripping his hands into fists and letting them go again as he looked up at the door to his bedroom every so often. Seamus had been in there for a while, and it was taking every ounce of restraint not to barge in there and demand answers. Hiccup had excused himself halfway through dinner and only moments later Erik found him getting sick over the rails only to collapse almost immediately after. They tested the meal for tampering and found nothing. They tested the whole batch and found nothing.

They even tested the dishes he had used and found nothing, though Viggo still tossed them overboard just to be on the safe side. Nobody else had gotten sick either, so food poisoning was ruled out quickly. 

It didn’t make any sense. Hiccup had been just fine that morning. There were no diseases on board right now, not including his. The last island they stopped at was two entire days ago, and while he could have picked up something there, it was unlikely an illness contracted then would take him down so suddenly after so much time had passed. 

So what happened?

His gaze snapped over to the door as Seamus stepped out, clutching his bag of tools and medicines. The man sighed and ran a hand through dense curls as he gently closed the door and set his bag down. “Good news is, he’s not contagious.”

“What does he have, then?”

“Looks ta be a right nasty case of Eel Pox.”

Viggo’s scowl hardened. “If that’s the case, then how come no one else is sick? The only eel served tonight was striped eel, according to Brooks and Grant. Eel Pox is only caused by Bloodvein Eels.”

Seamus shrugged. “I don’t know. Unfortunately, I also don’t have the right herbs to make the medicine for it. I had him cough up whatever was left and gave him some willowbark ta try and sleep it off. He won’t die, but we will have ta let this run its course.” He frowned back at the door and then looked over at Viggo with a soft expression. “He’ll be alright, Captain, he’s plenty strong.”

Viggo sighed heavily as he stared back towards his room again, feeling helpless as dread pooled in his stomach. When Seamus opened the door to leave, he yelped as Toothless all but shoved his way into the small office, snarling while Erik and Bjorn stood in the doorway with matching expressions of guilt. Viggo glared and turned to the dragon. “You can’t go in there, Toothless, you’re far too large for that room. You know that.”

The dragon was having none of it as he stalked forward, but Viggo didn’t budge.

“Do you want me to tell you how he’s doing, or do you want me to ban you to the hold until you can pull yourself together?”

Toothless snorted his discontent but finally stepped back as Erik and Bjorn stepped in as well. Viggo pinched the bridge of his nose as he watched the three await his answer and Seamus slipped away from the confrontation, muttering about how he needed to go and prepare some medicines. Viggo waved him off and turned to the small crowd. “Hiccup will be fine.” He started, directing his first comment to Toothless as the NightFury seemed to settle.

Erik and Bjorn also seemed relieved and Erik looked toward the door. “So… what’s wrong with him then?”

“Eel Pox.”

Erik’s eyes widened. “I thought only Bloodvein Eels did that.”

Bjorn frowned. “Didn’t Hiccup tell us earlier how dragons get that from any eel?”

“Yeah, but Hiccup ain’t no dragon, ya chowder head.”

Bjorn ignored the insult with a shrug. “Well, ya got a better explanation? Nobody else got sick. I knew a guy once, back in me old village. Couldn’t eat Lingonberries without swellin’ up and turnin’ all red. The man would be sick fer days, strugglin’ ta breathe, and nobody knew why, so he just quit eatin’ ‘em.”

“Really?” Erik gaped, “that must’ve sucked.”

“Indeed.” Viggo tried not to imagine Hiccup keeling over and suffocating due to something so simple. He gripped his hands tight behind his back and clicked his tongue disapprovingly. Both men went dead silent at the noise and straightened. “Seamus assured me he just needs to rest. Leave me. Coop, Engle and Ryker will be handling the ship’s operations for the time being, so speak with them if there are any further issues. And do let them know if anyone else falls ill.”

“Aye, Cap.” Bjorn and Erik left then, leaving Viggo alone with Toothless. 

He turned to the dragon and sighed heavily. “I don’t suppose I could ask you to wait outside while Hiccup is indisposed?”

The dragon leveled him with a flat expression and he sighed heavily, running his hand down his face.

“Fine. Remain in here then, but I was being serious. You cannot fit in my room, and Hiccup being ill does not alter that fact. Try not to break anything.” Viggo didn’t have the energy to argue with the stubborn NightFury, so instead he waited until the dragon had settled himself in a corner to guard the door and stepped back into his room.

The sound of labored breathing and rustling furs drained what little strength remained from his limbs. Viggo stepped over to the bed and sank into the chair Seamus had dragged over beside it. Hiccup looked pale, cheeks flush with fever, and drenched in sweat. His chest rattled with the effort to drag in painful, laboured breaths. His shuffling around had caused the soaked rag to slip from his forehead. Viggo grabbed the cloth and dipped it into the basin of water Seamus had left near the bed. He wrung the cloth and used it to wipe the young man’s face before replacing it over his forehead. 

Hiccup slowly opened his eyes and his expression was glassy as his gaze drifted slowly around the room, like he couldn’t quite make out where he was. 

“Dad?...” the man muttered and Viggo felt like someone had lanced his heart with hot iron. “Are you… leaving for… th’nest ‘gain?...”

Viggo grimaced and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “No.”

“Oh… thas’good…” Hiccup slurred, blinking blearily as he tried to squeeze his hand back, but couldn’t quite seem to get his fingers to cooperate. “C’nyou… stay this time?... I dun… wanna be’lone…”

Another lance seared white and hot through his chest and he brought Hiccup’s hands to his lips to gently kiss his palm. “Of course, my dear… I’m not going anywhere.” Moments later, Hiccup drifted into a restless slumber and Viggo breathed out a deep, heavy sigh.

This was going to be a long night.

Hiccup wasn’t sure where he was, or how much time had passed, but he did know that there was some sort of bright light searing through his eyelids. He tried to lift his hand to shield himself from the painful flash that lanced through his head, but his arm flopped uselessly against something hot.

Too hot. 

He felt like he was on fire. Were they being attacked by dragons? Was there another raid happening? Panic lanced through him as he tried to force his addled mind into function, but his thoughts felt as thick and heavy as his limbs. 

As though he were being pinned down.

The desperate need to survive granted him the strength to throw off the heavy things pinning him down and he dragged himself up, swinging his legs over the edge of… a bed? He forced his eyes open, blinking through the blurry haze as he tried to get a grip on where he was.

It didn’t matter. What mattered was that the village was currently under attack. 

His limbs trembled with the effort of movement, but he forced himself up, only to trip and stumble over something. He crashed to the ground and water splashed all over him, and suddenly he was freezing. 

Well, freezing and wet was better than burning to death, he told himself as he tried to haul himself up. His body wracked with shivers and he grimaced as his legs refused to cooperate and he collapsed back to the floor. Panic seared through his chest when he realized he didn’t have the strength to move. He had to get out of here before the hut was destroyed.

Somewhere, something slammed open with a loud bang that made a spike of pain shoot through his head, and heavy footsteps stomped closer.

“Hiccup!”

Hiccup froze. Oh no… he had messed up. That water bucket he tripped over must’ve been for the fires and he had wasted it, like the useless, clumsy fool he was. “The attack!...” He gasped desperately as tears stung his eyes. There wasn’t time for this self pity, they were under attack! He gasped and dragged himself up, grasping around for a weapon to defend himself. Suddenly, the searing light was gone and Hiccup was enveloped in warmth. 

A hand came up to comb itself through his hair and a deep, soothing baritone chased away the racing panic in his mind. “You’re safe now, my dear Hiccup… the attack is over…”

Oh… 

That was good. But…

“The mess…” he mumbled helplessly as he was carefully lifted from the cold, wet ground.

“It’s only a little water, everything will be fine. Let me help you out of these wet clothes…”

Slowly, Hiccup was deposited into… a chair? He was going to guess it was a chair. Large, gentle hands carefully peeled off the wet clothes. First his socks, then his tunic and trousers and Hiccup was left shivering in the chilled room. He wrapped trembling arms around himself, trying to rub the warmth back in but it was doing nothing. The whirlwind he’d just been through caught up with him. Tears streamed down his cheeks because he didn’t know what else to do. 

He had been on fire, there had been an attack, and now he felt like he’d been plunged into the freezing depths of the ocean. His skin spiked with heat like fireworms were crawling all over his body and he couldn’t stop. Shaking.

The arms were back around him then and he all but melted into the safe embrace. 

“Let’s get you back to bed, my dear…” Hiccup felt himself be moved again, and this time he was deposited on something soft. He tried to offer his savior a smile, but everything was too blurry to make out. The hazy silhouette shuffled him around and then moved to crawl into the bed with him. They pulled him flush against them and dragged a fur over the two of them. Something cool and soft cleaned away the sticky tear tracks on his face and the voice spoke again. “You are alright, I’m here.”

Hiccup felt a hand come up to his head and fingers carded through his hair, gently untangling the sweat-damp locks. He nestled into his apparent savior’s chest and melted into him as the man let out an amused huff. 

“You’re a handful sometimes, you know that?”

“No m’not…” Hiccup pouted and clung to the man’s tunic. He felt a sigh deep in the other man’s chest and slowly, he began to speak again. He was… reciting poetry? Hiccup wasn’t sure, but the words danced seamlessly over his savior’s tongue. The excitement had passed and his limbs felt heavy with pain and exhaustion. The smooth voice lulled his clouded mind into a calm that dragged him towards sleep. He felt something warm and soft press against his forehead.

“Sleep well, my dear Hiccup…”

Viggo grimaced as he watched Hiccup wretch up yet another meal. He heaved into the bucket Seamus held while the medic frowned and rubbed his back. His eyes were still clouded and listless, and his limbs trembled like a newborn lamb. Viggo could only stand there and watch as the bucket was taken away and the medic held a cup of water to Hiccup’s lips. It took a great deal of effort to get the young man to tilt his head back and drink it as he fought weakly, shaking his head. 

“Dunwanna…” he whined pitifully, words slurring as Seamus continued to encourage small sips with infinite patience.

“Ya have to, or ya won’t get better.”

Viggo clenched his hands into fists and looked away. “Is there any possible way to feed him?”

“His body still won’t take anythin’ solid. I had Grant set some more broth to stew earlier, should be ready soon. He’s keepin’ water down, so long as we take it slow. That’s a good sign.” Once he’d gotten Hiccup to swallow a few mouthfuls of water, he set the cup aside and stood to take away the bucket. “I’ll leave some willowbark with ye, try and get him to drink a cup. Help him sleep through the worst of it.”

“Of course…” Viggo murmured as Seamus turned to leave. 

As soon as the door opened, Toothless attempted to shove his way through to get a look at Hiccup and Viggo groaned. This happened every time anyone entered or left, and he was tired of it. 

“I told you there isn’t room.” He bit out, trying to block the dragon’s entrance. Toothless ignored him and turned his gaze on Hiccup, who was watching the two of them with a small giggle. 

“Thassa… really big cat…” he mumbled deliriously, and Toothless’ head shot up, the sheer offense clear in his eyes.

Viggo smacked a hand to his forehead and dragged it down his face as he herded the NightFury towards the door. “As you can see, Hiccup is not in his right mind at the moment.”

“Wait, no…” the man in question whined, watching Toothless with a watery gaze from where he lay against the bed. “Wanna… pet it…” 

“I’m sorry my dear, but the kitty must go.” Viggo allowed himself a satisfied smirk at Toothless’ indignant glare, but it didn’t last long when he watched Hiccup’s expression crumble.

“Oh…” Tears gathered in the young man’s eyes and his arm draped over the edge of the bed. “Bye kitty…” He sniffed as the tears began to fall. “I’ll miss you…”

Panic lanced through Viggo’s chest as he rushed over to Hiccup’s side and began to gently wipe at his tears. “It’s alright,” he soothed gently. “There’s no need to cry…” Evidently his presence was of little comfort right now as to his horror, Hiccup’s lip trembled and he buried his face in the bed and sobbed. 

“Kitty…” Hiccup choked out, voice cracked with grief.

Viggo turned desperately toward Toothless’ smug expression and his eye twitched as the dragon looked at him like he’d won. He rubbed gentle circles on Hiccup’s back and sighed his defeat. “Alright, he can stay for the time being.”

Slowly, Hiccup’s sobs ceased and he lifted his bloodshot gaze from the mattress, looking hopefully at Viggo. “Really?...”

“Yes, really. If it means that much to you…” Viggo grabbed the cloth from the waterbasin and used it to clean up Hiccup’s face, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. Once he was satisfied that Hiccup was cleaned up, he stood and turned to Toothless.“... I will only allow it until Seamus returns with the broth. Then you must leave so that Hiccup can eat.” 

Without any further prompting, the NightFury bounded over to the bed where Hiccup was smiling like a child as he reached out for the dragon. Toothless put his forelegs on the bed and dropped his head on Hiccup’s chest as a purr rumbled from his throat. Hiccup giggled and coughed weakly as he laid his hands on Toothless’ head and rubbed the smooth scales with reverence. Viggo breathed a heavy sigh and sank to the ground with his head in his hands, just peering out to watch the silly display with a bone deep exhaustion.

He huffed a small laugh at his own expense and let the warmth bloom in his chest as he watched his disease addled lover laugh for the first time since this whole mess began. He could already hear Ryker taunting him over how soft he’d become.

“Mmm… not a very soft kitty…” Hiccup mumbled tiredly.

Hiccup groaned as he slowly began to register his surroundings. His limbs ached and his head felt foggy with sleep and pain. He cracked his eyes open with a groan, rubbing the crust from his eyelids as he pushed himself to a sitting position against the pillows. A rag fell off his head and dropped onto the furs that had been tucked neatly around him. A curtain had been drawn over the window beside Viggo’s bed, and that explained why it was so dark in here at least.

He looked around the room slowly. There was a water basin tucked beneath a chair next to the bed and Viggo’s tea set was out on the nightstand. That was strange, he usually kept it put away. His attention was drawn to the door of the cabin only to be immediately disappointed when it wasn’t Viggo who stepped through the door.

It was Seamus, the ship’s doctor. Confusion twisted through Hiccup’s mind as the man approached with what appeared to be a relieved smile. “Oh, good. Yer awake.” He approached and set his bag down, grabbing Hiccup’s chin as he prodded at his face. Hiccup scrunched his nose and tried to pull away, but the medic held firm as he peered into his eyes, then had him open his jaw. 

When Seamus finally released him, evidently content with whatever he’d seen, Hiccup grimaced and rubbed his jaw. “What happened?”

The man snorted and dumped a few herbs into a mortar and pestle with some water. “Don’t remember, ey? Not surprised, ya been pretty out of it, lad. Everyone’s been pretty worried about ye.”

Hiccup stared forward as his mind refused to register the statement. “Well that’s stupid.”

Seamus snorted again and shook his head as he grabbed the cup. “I’m sure Viggo would love ta hear what just came outta yer mouth, after everythin’ ya put the poor man through.” 

Guilt coiled in Hiccup’s chest and he frowned. “What… did I do?”

Seamus shook his head and handed Hiccup the cup, then collected his things. “Drink that. I’ll go tell ‘im yer awake.”

Hiccup had a thousand questions, but before he had a chance to gather the words, Seamus was already gone. He stared down at the thick, green liquid and grimaced before he forced down the bitter tasting medicine. 

Willow bark, his mind supplied. Mixed with a few other things he couldn’t quite make out. 

Just as he set aside the empty cup, the door opened again and this time it was Viggo who stepped through. The relief was immediately apparent when he laid eyes on Hiccup sitting up in bed. He shut the door gently behind him and closed the distance, sitting on the edge of the bed as he reached out to press a hand against Hiccup’s forehead. His cheeks dusted a brighter red than they already were as the cool hand trailed from his temple to his cheek. 

“You’re still a little warm… how are you feeling?”

Hiccup leaned into the welcome touch and closed his eyes. “Like shit.”

Viggo snorted and shifted to sit closer, gently taking Hiccup’s hands in his. “I’m not surprised. This is the first time you’ve been lucid in the last three days.”

Hiccup’s eyes shot open. “Three days?!” He immediately moved to drag the furs off him and get up. How much work had he just abandoned in all that time, for others to pick up his slack? He hadn’t taken Toothless flying in three whole days. He was supposed to help Coop with-

Viggo immediately grabbed him and pushed him back down into bed. “None of that, now.” An amused smirk played across his lips as he gently pulled the covers back over Hiccup’s already shivering form. “You need to stay in bed, you are nowhere near a full recovery. You haven’t even been awake a full hour.”

“But what about my responsibilities on the ship? What about Toothless?” Hiccup whined, voice high with distress as he tried to move again, but Viggo’s arm was as unmoving as a sleeping dragon.

“Both can wait.” Viggo spoke in his Captain’s voice, a firm tone that said there would be absolutely no room for argument. “The others are managing fine for the time being, so just focus on getting your strength back.” Viggo softened then and shifted to lay beside Hiccup, tucking him against his chest. “Seamus will be coming back with some food, so try to eat what you can. I know you’re probably more tired than hungry, but you haven’t had anything substantial for the last few days.”

“Right…” Hiccup moved to lay against Viggo, his arm draped lazily across the man’s torso. “So… what… happened exactly?”

Viggo carded his fingers through Hiccup’s hair and he hummed contentedly at the soothing motion. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“A talking yak with a helmet and a beard, listing off all my deepest insecurities.”

Viggo burst into startled laughter and shook his head at Hiccup’s crooked grin. “Fine. What’s the last thing you remember that made any actual sense?”

“The yak did make sense!”

“Hiccup.” Exasperation dripped from the man’s tone, so Hiccup decided to have some mercy.

“Fine…” He pouted and dropped his head back on Viggo’s chest, savoring his touch. “I was having dinner with the others and… at some point I just started feeling really… off.”

The man nodded sagely. “And then you fainted into Erik’s arms.”

Hiccup shot up, his face flushed with more embarrassment now than fever. “I did what?!”

“Yes.” Viggo pouted at him. “If you wanted someone to carry you, my dear, you should’ve just asked.”

“Viggo!” It was Hiccup’s turn to look exasperated as he matched his lover’s pout. 

After a moment, Viggo’s face broke into a soft smile and he pressed a kiss to Hiccup’s sweat-damp hair. “Worry not, all is forgiven.” He breathed and wrapped both his arms around Hiccup, pulling him in close. “It would seem your constitution does not lend itself to eels very well. You contracted Eel Pox from the meal.”

“Wait… but only-”

“Only Bloodvein Eels do that?” Viggo shook his head. “For most people, yes, but that doesn’t seem to be the case for you. Alas, I’m afraid it’s off the menu for you. You’re devastated, I’m sure.”

Hiccup huffed a laugh and wrapped his arms loosely around Viggo’s torso. “Oh no… however will I manage…” he murmured dully as exhaustion weighed down his limbs. Distantly, he realized the willowbark was starting to kick in, but he wasn’t ready to sleep. He wanted to stay awake longer and feel Viggo’s fingers in his hair and listen to his silky smooth voice. “Sorry for causing you so much trouble…”

“None of that, now, it isn’t as if you chose to simply keel over.” He felt Viggo’s lips brush against his temple in a feather light touch. “Rest, darling… I will be here when you wake.”

“You promise?...” 

“I promise.” Viggo dragged the thick fur back over Hiccup’s shoulders. “We’ll be having a long talk about your thoughts on my concern for your health when you wake.”

Of course Seamus ratted him out. Viggo had long declared war on all of Hiccup’s ‘misplaced’ guilt, and apparently the whole damn crew agreed. Sleep suddenly felt like a much better idea. 

Hiccup nestled down into Viggo’s chest and allowed the medicine to drag him into a deep slumber, safe in his lover’s arms.