#httydxreader

You watch as he pours in a little of the water before mixing it all together into some kind of green paste. It's a shock that he knows how to do all of this. "They were dragon hunters," you say, taking deep breaths as your head spins. You still feel freezing, but you can feel the sweat clinging to you like a second skin. It's horrible. "The tried to shoot us down with... something. I don't know what. Whatever it was, they had terrible aim. They got me instead of the dragon." Hiccup takes your hand away from your wound again and, as soon as he applies the herbal paste, you hiss in pain, all but falling onto your dragon. It pushes you back up so that you're sitting, but the pain as he smears the paste over the gash is unbearable. Your hand weakly clenches the table and, unable to control it, tears start pricking at your eyes. Gods, what did you do to deserve this? "I need to lift up your shirt a bit more," he says, somehow keeping his voice steady. If the roles were reversed, you would've been freaking out. "I need to be able to get the bandage on." Nodding, you struggle to sit straight so he can pull your shirt up just to your ribcage. You risk a glance down at your side and, though all the blood is gone and the paste covers most of the gash, you can still see that it's a big wound, spanning from slightly under your ribcage to a little below your waist. The amount of blood you've probably lost... if you lose anymore there's no doubt that you'll die. He unrolls the bandage slightly before beginning to wrap it around your torso. It's comforting feeling the warmth of his skin on yours as he works the coarse material around you, so comforting that you could just close your eyes and... "Hey," Hiccup says. "I need you to stay awake, love, hear me? I can't risk losing you yet." In seconds, he's finished wrapping the bandage around you and is pulling your shirt back down. It's tight, uncomfortably so, but as soon as you try to loosen it, he pulls your hand away. "It needs to be tight," he says, "or it'll keep bleeding and the paste will move about." You lean back in the chair, limp. "It itches." A small laugh. Hands reaching under your legs and behind your back. "Come on. Let's get you in bed, huh? Then you can sleep. I'll get you some water, too." When he lifts you up, it almost feels like you're floating. A quiet giggle passes through your lips as your eyes flutter between open and shut. The pain, it's still there, and it hurts like shit, but something about this all seems funny though you couldn't say what. You're in your bed before you know it, looking up at Hiccup through half-shut lids. He's smiling softly now, no longer so worried about you being on the brink of death. That crease, the little lines between his brows, lingers still with the knowledge that anything could still happen. His healing skills are good, but what you probably need is Gothi, and you're all out of Gothi's on the Edge. "You'll be fine," he says gently, brushing your hair from your forehead and placing a cool rag atop it. "I'll be right here if you need me." A tired smile tugs at your lips. "Thank you, Hiccup." "Now you owe me," he jokes. "Next time, you save my life." And, as your eyes slowly flutter shut, he presses a soft yet intimate kiss on the back of your hand, only confirming that he is there and he will stay. "Hiccup the Healer," you mumble, your words barely coherent. You snort a tiny, tired laugh. "That's your new name."

Goosebumps raise on your skin as you soar through the sky on the back of your dragon. The sun is still rising, and the clouds are a beautiful pale orange that entrances you almost entirely, to the point where you hear nothing but the flapping of your dragon’s large wings and the singing of the soft spring breeze. Hiccup will be out looking for you soon, no doubt. He always appears around dawn and, though you don’t mind his presence (in fact, you love it), it’s nice to have the time to yourself. Things have been hectic and you need some time to adapt. Ever since dragons have been accepted on Berk, things have begun to change, naturally. Nearly everything you have grown so accustomed to has evolved to accommodate the large beasts now living in your village and, though you love your dragon with all your heart, it has been a struggle getting used to the change. Hiccup, your best friend who brought along the newfound bond between Vikings and dragons, adapted in mere seconds, but you supposed that it was fate. He was practically born to ride dragons, to tame them. On the other hand, you were not, and you were still struggling with that. “Y/n!” a voice calls distantly. You turn to look behind in the direction you’d come from and catch sight of the all-too-familiar Night Fury, Toothless. On his back is Hiccup, who grins from ear to ear as if he’d just won a game of hide-and-seek. “You’re up early,” he says as he reaches you, slowing Toothless down to match your slow glide - you were not planning on flying fast any time soon. “I’m always up at this time,” you quip. “And so are you. ‘Early’ is a construct.” Hiccup smiles. “Did you sleep okay?” You return the smile. “I suppose. This nitwit -” you pat your dragon on the neck - “wouldn’t stop waking me up, though. Did you?” “I did,” Hiccup says. “Toothless woke me up by jumping on the roof. He was excited to meet you guys out here.” Said dragon makes a rumbling sound that resembles laughter and bears his signature toothless grin. You look away from the duo and stare out at the ocean below you. Not even a year ago, you never thought it was possible to see the vastness of the water from a view other than that of a ship’s helm. You had never even dreamed of being able to confidently climb onto the back of a dragon and fly off towards uncharted lands, but here you were. Hiccup clears his throat and brushes his hair out of his face. “My dad was asking about you again.” “Oh, really?” You raise an eyebrow and look over at your friend. “What about?” “He’s just wondering how you’re coping,” Hiccup says. “He’s still sorry that you lost your parents.” You feel your heart clench a little at the fresh memory, but smile nonetheless. “It’s okay. It was fate and I’m okay with that, I think.” “You still believe in fate?” Hiccup asks, almost shocked. “I do.” You nod. “Everything happens for a reason. Every decision we make, every memory we gain, it all adds up to one final picture before we go to Valhalla.” You don’t often speak to Hiccup about these things; he prefers logic, much like your mutual friend Fishlegs. He always needs a definitive answer to things so he doesn’t go mad while you prefer to believe that everything is with purpose and will have its own course set by the gods. As much as Hiccup believes in gods, he never has such faith in them as you do, but you can’t blame him. If you had experienced what he had in his fifteen years, you’d want definitive answers, too. “Do you think we met for a reason?” Hiccup looks out onto the ocean, hands trailing across the dark scales of Toothless’ neck. You smile softly. “Of course I do. We might not know why yet, but I believe we were meant to find each other.” That makes Hiccup smile, and the sight of his mussed-up hair and excited green eyes is enough to send your heart soaring faster and higher than Toothless ever could. You hope you and Hiccup met for the same reason that leaves you smiling as you fall asleep; the same reason that makes your heart sprout wings and glide through the clouds. You hope and pray and wish that you and Hiccup are to be something more than what you are now and, if fate is what you hope, you are certain you can be. “The gods brought us together by will,” you say, staring out at the clouds. “I trust in their judgement and if I have to walk through Valhalla just to find out what it is, then so be it.” Hiccup glances at you. “You’re really into this, aren’t you?” You laugh and lean forwards, resting against your dragon’s neck. Your eyes are set on your friend, watching as the wind ruffles his clothes and turns his nose and cheeks a soft shade of red, “All for a reason,” you say, which makes Hiccup laugh. The two of you gaze at each other for a little longer, eyes locked and smiles mirrored. Hiccup leans forward onto Toothless’ neck, much like you have with your dragon, and reaches out his hand. You extend your arm out and grasp his hand softly, once again shocked at the callouses underneath his skin, though it made sense since he’d worked with Gobber in the forges a lot of his life. “Hiccup?” you say. Your friend hums in response, eyes still completely trained on you. “I like you.” Hiccup seems to jolt at that and, for a second, you’re scared you shouldn’t have said it. You release his hand and prepare for the worst, but Hiccup reaches for your hand again. “I like you, too,” he says, red-faced. “For a reason - for a lot of reasons.” And you can’t help but smile at the fate you’ve lucked out on.