Have this one in the works for quite a while now. Enjoy! Constructive criticism is appreciated!

Straight Through

The Dragon Riders found that caring for and loving their leader had come with its fair share of risks and even consequences.

Hiccup Haddock the Third was, by nature, prone to accidents and bad luck. He had been ever since the day of his birth.

Unlucky enough to be born too early, but fortunate enough to have the strength to survive. That was how one could sum up his kind of luck in a single sentence. And no matter how hard he tried to stay safe, which he honestly didn't try as often as he really should, trouble always seemed to find him somehow, someway.

The young Viking and his dragon could leave Berk for a nice relaxing flight and come back with a new declaration of war. It has happened before. It was basically how their war with the Berserkers and with the Dragon Hunters started.

Hiccup cared too much about way too many, he always got involved and in over his head. This lead to him being hurt or even almost killed in the past. More times than any of them were comfortable admitting to.

Through all of this the Dragons and the Riders who loved him deeply each did their part to keep him safe, as he did his to return the favour. They tried their best.

Sometimes their best just wasn't enough.

And now they were in mourning.

There had been a small fleet of leftover Dragon Hunters still preying on dragons to make a profit off even now, long after Viggo Grimborn's empire had crumbled down.

The group of eleven warriors found them through intel from allies and had made their move to end their effort at reviving that kind of business once and for all.

It seemed easy enough, they had fought countless battles like this before. They had faced much worse.

And yet the unexpected still happened.

Hiccup and Toothless, easily the most veteran fliers of the entire group, were downed.

None of them had seen exactly what happened. Hiccup had been giving orders on how to tackle the next ship armed with two powerful ballistas one moment and the next...

The two must've flown too close, because that was when his body jerked violently to one side. Even to the point of almost being thrown out of the saddle and knocking Toothless off course. His shouting had stopped instantly.

The Riders watched Hiccup try to recover by pulling himself back up before slumping forward and losing grip.

When they plummeted, Toothless caught him just in time.

They had crashed on the deck of one of the ships, painfully so, and the Riders had fought hard to get them back.

Once the remaining Hunters were defeated, that's when they could grab the Viking and the Night Fury and bring them to the nearest island they could find, the very one the Hunters had been trying to rob of its dragons. They needed to check up on Hiccup before deciding what needed to be done next.

They found a cave in which they could rest. It was then that they were confronted with a cruel discovery.

The reason Hiccup and Toothless went down was to blame on a single arrow buried deep within the Dragon Rider's throat.

It had gone straight through. In one end and out the other. Though the head had broken off at some point it seemed.

Someone had been lucky enough to shoot Hiccup, ironically one of the few lucky enough to down a Night Fury long ago, and this injury he likely wouldn't survive.

There was barely any blood to be seen with the projectile still embedded in the wound, but his windpipe, his oesophagus or even the arteries in his neck, there really wasn't anything the arrow could hit that wasn't important.

It was a lethal shot. Lethal and lucky. It was why Hiccup was now so still.

There was a wide cave nearby where they settled for the night. Though Hiccup lived for now, with that injury he wouldn't last for much longer and no one expected him to make the trip back to the Edge, let alone home. He wouldn't even make it through the night.

Instead of returning to Berk, the Riders decided that all they could do now was to make Hiccup's last minutes, or hour, in this world a comfortable one. Flying would only make him suffer more than he needed to.

Astrid and Snotlout were uncharacteristically quiet as they cut through his armour to remove it without jostling him too much. His brand new prosthetic they left on simply because of how proud he'd been to reveal his newest invention just weeks prior. His gait had steadily improved since using it.

The arrow Fishlegs removed and the injury he dressed with all the care he could muster with his trembling hands. At that point Hiccup already looked so pale and his breathing had become worryingly slow. The blood loss hadn't been too terrible, but it wasn't a reason for hope either.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut provided blankets and something soft to rest his head on. The least they could do was make his passing a peaceful one and it was going to be cold out tonight.

Anytime now, they suspected. Both the Dragons and the Riders sat around him and wondered if Hiccup knew he wasn't alone. Especially with Toothless acting as his protector of this world's evils for one last time, curled up next to him and crooning a most sorrowful song as he gently nudged his cheek and huffed lungfuls of warm air on his hair.

"What do we tell Stoick?" Fishlegs was the first to break the silence since the battle and a new kind of dread settled in their stomachs. As if waiting for one of their best friends to slowly die right in front of their eyes wasn't enough to upset them.

"He's going to be heartbroken." He added and they all knew that to be the truth.

Hiccup and Stoick had their fair share of troubles, as many families did, but that man loved his son more than life itself. He was all that remained of Valka and the only blood-related family he still had left. The Chief had run through blazing fires and fought raging dragons to keep him safe. He had been trying to create a better world for him.

This kind of loss, the cruelty of a parent outliving their child, it might be enough to break him.

If anything could possibly break the one and only Stoick the Vast, this would be it.

Their hearts ached for him now too.

At least it was peaceful, they supposed. That was their sole comfort.

Hiccup was pale and unnervingly still, he simply looked as if he were sleeping. That at least meant he wasn't coughing up blood, crying from the pain, fearing the end or consciously and desperately fighting to draw breath to stay alive.

Knowing Hiccup, that was exactly what he would be doing if he were awake. Exert all of his strength and will for as long as he could for even the slightest chance to survive.

For everything he's been through, all the trouble he's gotten himself into, his death wasn't as violent as it probably could've been.

Astrid choked up. She wanted to stay strong for her friends, she knew they would need her after tonight, but her emotions were overflowing too.

She grabbed at his hair, the part of him she loved toying with and braiding because of how invitingly soft and wild it was, and lowered herself so her forehead could touch his.

It was still warm. She foolishly hoped that warmth would never leave.

This was her betrothed. They had gotten engaged just months ago and she felt herself growing sick at the thought of never being able to have that life she wanted to share with him.

She already hated the very thought of it. A life without him? A world in which he no longer existed? An Astrid without her Hiccup?

She didn't want to accept such a harsh reality.

"Snotlout, what're you-" She sniffed. Astrid wanted to question the Jorgenson boy's actions as he moved closer to their dying leader and carefully pulled on the bandages just enough to see underneath them.

"He's not bleeding." He answered.

"Yeah, I... I stitched it up. I just... I just couldn't let Hiccup go without doing everything in my power to save him first." Fishlegs inhaled a shaky breath, shivering and curling in on himself further. He knew he had done everything he could, but it would never feel like he did.

How someone so big could seem so small...

"Snotlout-" Astrid shook her head.

"He's breathing too!"

She stopped talking for a moment, but her exasperation stayed as she turned her head and watched the Jorgenson undo the dressings. None of the Riders were really stopping him, but they were questioning him.

The twins looked at each other, wondering if either of them should do or say something to their friend.

"What are you getting at, Snotlout?!" She didn't mean to snap, but she couldn't help raise her voice. Snotlout's nonsense was the last thing she wanted to deal with right now.

"Hiccup should be coughing up blood, but he's not! And... I think he's breathing easier? Didn't Fishf-Fishlegs say that things could get ugly earlier? Because the veins in his neck or windsophagus are probably hit or whatever?" Snotlout butchered the explanation Fishlegs had given them earlier whilst treating their leader, about how the arrow must've severed arteries or cut off Hiccup's air supply, but there was truth to his words.

Hiccup was peaceful when he should be choking on either blood or a lack of air.

These weren't the ramblings of someone in denial.

"Guys, I'm telling you something isn't adding up! And have you noticed that Hiccup isn't wheezing anymore?" That sentence Snotlout barely needed to finish before Fishlegs scooted closer. He shared a look with Astrid before he crawled to Hiccup and rested his head on his barely heaving chest, Snotlout allowed him his space.

"I think he's right." Tuff hesitantly spoke up.

"Yeah, Hiccup made that really terrifying sound earlier when we pulled him out of Toothless' arm... legs and brought him here, but it just sorta stopped." Ruffnut piped up aswell.

Astrid didn't reply.

Was there truly something they were missing? Or were they simply giving themselves false hope because they couldn't bear the thought of losing one of their own to something other than old age?

The answer wasn't provided by her as Fishlegs came back up and held up his hand to Hiccup's slightly parted lips.

And he found Snotlout to be right.

Hiccup's breathing had gone from wheezy, laboured breaths to ones too hard to notice, but it was more evident now. And with the wheezing gone, he could only conclude that Hiccup was breathing just fine. Somehow.

"Astrid, Hiccup is... I think he might actually make it." Fishlegs spoke words, but not one of them seemed to really register in any of their minds. They didn't understand.

Hiccup was going to die and now he wasn't?

"You never followed any classes with Gothi, did you?" Snotlout was suspicious to say the least.

"What?! You're the one who started it!" Fishlegs was quick to defend himself, offended.

"But you're sure, Fishlegs? You're sure Hiccup is going to live?" A part of Astrid was still fearful, but the relief was already trying to ban any and all fear from her heart.

"I'm sure, Astrid. And... I'm really sorry to say this guys, but if Hiccup was dying, he should've passed already. It's been hours since the battle!" Fishlegs hated the very words that rolled off his tongue, but that didn't make them any less true.

Hiccup should not be holding on for as long as he had.

"Hiccup-" Astrid wanted to speak to him, wanted to see if she could wake him up, but someone beat her to it.

Toothless had been listening to the Riders, much like the other dragons circling them who had grown anxious themselves.

Moaning louder this time, he tried to wake his Rider up instead of trying to lull him into a peaceful passing. His more comforting nudges turned a little less gentle and his tongue poked the injury on accident while it wet his cheek. His clawed paw grasped Hiccup's tunic as if attempting to hold him closer.

And then...

"Toothless, Bud...?" It was a mere whisper, but they came from Hiccup himself and the Riders could only look on, dumbfounded, as he opened his eyes and smiled up to his Night Fury. And Toothless retracted his teeth to give his Rider the gummy smile usually only reserved for him.

The others stared. As Hiccup released a breathy laugh while fending off Toothless' affection, followed by a pained yelp and a grimace that caused Toothless to settle down and worry about him again, their friends simply stared.

They were happy. Of course, they were! But just minutes ago they believed Hiccup was dying a slow and silent death.

The Dragon Riders gazed at each other, every one of them silently wondering if this was something they should tell their friend about.

No.

This was a secret they would keep to themselves. At least for the time being.

"I'm... I'm okay, Bud." Hiccup was curled up on his side, holding onto his painful throat as he tried to swallow the aching away, face still contorted. Toothless was lying with his head in front of Hiccup's, softly whining, his nose wiggling as he sniffed and his breath wafting gently over his face.

Their wordless decision made, Astrid bend down to rest her head on Hiccup's shoulder and wrap her arms around him in a comforting embrace. Whether it was to comfort him or herself was up for debate.

She stayed quiet, but cherished her boyfriend, this moment and the fact that she would still get to share her life with him.

Meanwhile, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, while happy, weren't quite sure what to feel or even think now.

It was one thing to have Hiccup's luck to survive time and again, which was already quite questionable at times. It was a whole other story when that same person managed to crawl their way back from the edge when they should've died hours ago.

No matter, their friend lived. The how and why weren't as important to them.