Behind the mask

Seismic Shift

The soft beep of the machine was the only sound as the gang lounged around the room,  attention mainly on phones as they checked out what else was happening in the world. Astrid had refused to leave Hiccup's side until he woke after his surgery and the rest had stayed in solidarity...well, the girls, Tuff and Fishlegs had volunteered to stay and Snotlout had refused to look mean and petty so he had stayed as well-though with bad grace. Gobber had looked around the room at the crowd already waiting, seen the boy when he was unconscious, said a few words in his unconscious ear, then left, ordering Astrid to let him know when Hiccup woke up.

Snotlout had just arrived back with an enormous armful of snacks when Ruff poked Astrid hard in the arm. When she looked up angrily, the female twin jerked her thumb at the bed...where Hiccup was blinking silently and moving his head slightly. Annoyance forgotten, Astrid leapt to his side, her hand unconsciously finding his.

"Hiccup?" she said gently. He blinked, his emerald gaze still bleary.

"As-Astrid?" he murmured. "I'm still alive?"

"As far as I know...though I only got an A in Health class..." she told him smugly.

"Show off," he mumbled. "How many feet do I have?"

"Two-same as everyone else," Astrid told him reassuringly.

"Then why does it hurt so much?" he moaned softly. She smiled.

"They had to remove all the fixator thingies because they were pressing on the blood supply to your foot," she explained. "So they put a load of titanium pins and plates in...which was why the surgery was so long. They made a much bigger cut to do all that...though the surgeon was much happier with the result..."

"You're gonna have an awesome scar, dude!" Tuff told him cheerfully, eating a handful of Snotlout's Cheezie Puffs.

"Yeah, chicks dig scars," Snotlout pronounced unwisely.

"You'd be fighting girls off with a baseball bat...if Ast wouldn't kill them for getting near her boyfriend..." Ruff added. Hiccup lifted his head slightly and his green gaze flicked over the people in the room.

"Did-did I miss something?" he asked with a  slight frown. "Um...shouldn't you be blanking me or calling me 'worthless' or something?"

"It's okay, Hiccup," she soothed him, carding her fingers through his wild auburn hair. He gave a slight sigh and closed his eyes for a second: it was extraordinarily relaxing. "They know." His eyes slammed open and he tensed.

"Wh-what?" he croaked. "What a-about your popularity, your position...?" Her hand twined with his.

"You're worth more than that," she said gently, searching his face for understanding. "I'm so sorry...you didn't deserve that..." He swallowed, blinking.

"Actually, I probably did," he sighed. "You gave me a home and somewhere safe when...I had nothing. At all. I couldn't r-ruin you after you did that for me..."

"You did more," she murmured, stroking his hair again. He paused and his mind latched onto a memory.

"Um...did I kiss you?" he asked her.

"Yep."

"On the mouth?"

"Yep."

"You're going to kill me, aren't you?"

"Nope."

"You do know I was delirious with pain and...what?"

"I'm not going to kill you, Hiccup!"

"Maim me? Painfully...?"

"Nope?"

"Punch me?"