Written for an ask on Tumblr. I needed some Ruccup h/c on my list of whumps.

Constructive criticism is appreciated!

Enjoy!

Cry

"Am I gonna be okay?" Hiccup gazed back at Ruffnut, who was looking away from him.

There was nobody else in this room with them. So while she hadn't spoken his name, it was why Hiccup knew why it was him who she was asking this question to.

Toothless was here as well, as he rarely ever left Hiccup's side much like how Hiccup rarely left his, but he appeared to be napping. Night Furies were like cats, they napped a lot.

Hiccup was sitting on the edge of her bed as he glanced at Ruffnut, who was lying quietly on her back. He noticed that there was a frown on her face and emotion in her eyes that she tried hard to hide by averting her gaze. She wasn't the type to cry and certainly not in front of other people. The Dragon Riders were an exception, they were each other's safe space, but even then she didn't like to show her tears much.

So Hiccup turned his head away and pretended not to see it for now, for her sake. Ruffnut clearly didn't want him to.

"Well," He started, unsure of what to say at first. Today had been rough on all of them, but on Ruffnut the most.

There was a battle with the Dragon Hunters over this pack of Nadders Viggo's men were trying to kidnap for their massive business empire.

Besides how useful the spines were, the venom from within the spines of this species of dragons were lethal in the dosage they contained, very useful if you were in the market for something painful and fatal. But in smaller dosages, there were some other more surprising effects that this venom could provide. Viggo was a smart man, he knew how much people were willing to pay for Nadder venom.

The Dragon Riders caught them in the act of loading the entire pack onto their ships after sedating them. It should've been a routine rescue mission, but things got ugly out of nowhere and Ruffnut got hurt. Tuffnut and Barch were forced to retreat with Fishlegs and Meatlug following close behind while the rest of them finished this crew of Dragon Hunters off.

But that was hours ago by now. Most of the Dragon Riders had gone to sleep as it was night, though Snotlout and Hookfang were on their way to Berk to get Gothi. Tuffnut had gone to sleep, too. He'd wanted to stay by his twin sister's side and it took Astrid to haul him up on her shoulder to physically remove him from their hut and keep him out, but Ruffnut had made it quite clear he didn't want him around. She didn't want anyone around.

The only one she wanted to stay was Hiccup and that was part of the reason why he was still here, even though his eyes were heavy with sleep, too. At least, he'd managed to find the time to leave his armor at his hut.

Another reason was that he simply couldn't leave the side of one of his friends whenever they were injured and it wasn't certain yet if they were going to be okay or not.

Fishlegs had met them at the Thorstons' hut with a ghostly pale face when the other half of the Dragon Riders arrived home after the battle.

Amid the fighting, some of the Deadly Nadders were waking up. Unable to tell friend from foe, a couple of those fired their spines in an attempt to protect themselves and their pack.

One such stray spine shot grazed Ruff's leg. Her boots were thick to keep her feet and toes warm in this cold, but it was still no match for a Nadder spine. It cut right through the sturdy material and made a deep wound along the entire length of the limb, nearly going from her ankle all the way up to her knee.

It was painful for sure and Ruffnut had screamed louder than they'd ever heard her scream before. A tourniquet was put in place and after being able to set down somewhere before continuing to the Edge, Fishlegs quickly saw this was a wound that needed to be stitched, lest they risk letting her bleed out.

Hiccup couldn't answer Ruffnut's question when she asked him if she was going to be okay or not because he wasn't so sure himself.

He stared at her injury and saw that Fishlegs had taken good care of it as it was nicely bandaged. But within those wraps was once a very deep wound and only Gothi could ensure them if this was going to heal nicely or not. Without her diagnosis, Hiccup wasn't sure what he wanted to say. If he should even say anything at all.

And then there was the matter of whether Ruff had gotten some of that lethal venom in her system or not. It was a graze, the spine hadn't gotten stuck in her leg. So that was something only time could tell.

After a pause, Hiccup tried again.

"Well, I'm not sure what to tell you." He told her truthfully. It wasn't the answer Ruffnut wanted to hear, judging by the way her lips pursed. She wasn't happy, she'd hoped Hiccup of all people would've had a more satisfying answer for her than this, a more encouraging one.

Hiccup took her hand in his and that was the first time since everybody else had left them that Ruffnut could look back at him from the corners of her eyes. His uncertainty made it harder for her to contain herself, her bottom lip was trembling.

"Listen, Ruff," Hiccup started, giving the other Rider a soft smile.

"I can't give you a sure answer because I don't know. But you want me to tell you what I do know?" Ruffnut nodded quietly.

"I know that, no matter what's going to happen or what Gothi is going to say, we're all gonna be there for you. We're gonna be right by your side, think of the worst-case scenarios because we all have a flair for the dramatic like that, and then it's gonna turn out it was never that bad to begin with." Hiccup shrugged. His answer took a more lighthearted turn near the end, but that didn't mean he was being any less serious.

All the Dragon Riders would be there for her.

"I know Tuff and I tend to turn everything into a joke, Hiccup, but I really don't feel like laughing right now." Ruffnut spoke.

"Okay," Hiccup spoke and smiled at her.

"But my point still stands. If Gothi does come and tells us that this is bad or if she comes and says it really just looks a lot worse than it actually is, no matter what, we'll be there for you. No matter what you need. And if that means sitting here with you all night so you won't be alone, than I'm up for a couple of all-nighters." Hiccup told her, shrugging. The air around him was gentle, comforting. She appreciated that.

Ruffnut still stared at him and didn't feel like saying much, which was unlike her. But since Hiccup was telling her he and the other Riders would be there for her, she figured she may as well take him up on that offer.

So careful not to move her leg too much, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She was reluctant in taking Hiccup's help to sit upright, but she did wordlessly scoot closer to him to wrap her arms around his middle and lay her head on his chest. She needed a hug and Hiccup wasn't about to deny her that, returning the embrace gently and holding her close.

Her leg was starting to burn again as the numbness wore off and she wanted to ask for painkillers, but this took priority over her physical pain. She just wanted to stay like this for at least a moment with him, with Hiccup, and he was letting her.

He didn't speak another word and he didn't need to. Feeling his warmth, hearing his calm heartbeat as she allowed herself to press her head against his chest, it soothed her. Ruffnut finally decided she could cry and let herself be comforted.

There were quiet sniffles and sobs as tears of uncertainty and fear ran down her cheeks. Hiccup held her tighter when he heard them. No more words needed to be said, holding her was enough.

The truth was, she was scared. She'd gotten hurt before, of course, but nothing like this. Her leg quickly felt like it was on fire and she feared it would never be the same again.

Safe and comforted, for the time being, Ruffnut let herself cry.