Righteous (A Modern HTTYD AU)

~5~

"GAH!" Hiccup thrashed on the bed, Toothless meowing unhappily on his stomach. They'd returned to the subway tunnels where Fishlegs had instantly begun to work on removing the venom from his systems. Progress was slow going. 

"It would go faster if you would hold still," Fishlegs said irritably. "Even Toothless can't get comfortable." 

"Have you ever been stung by the Triple Stryke?" Hiccup snarled, his voice strained. 

"Admittedly, no. You were getting your butt kicked! How did you get out of there?" 

"Toothless turned into...a dragon...I think. I couldn't tell." 

"I bet. That venom worked you." Hiccup dropped his head back when Toothless suddenly sprang up as his phone vibrated beside him. 

"Kill it with fire," he hissed through his teeth, fumbling for it. Fishlegs slapped his hand. 

"Whatever you plan on doing with that, it can wait," he said. "Or the twins can check on it. Ruff! Tuff!"

"Destiny calls?" Tuffnut called, poking his head out of his train car, Ruffnut popping out below him. 

"Come look at this," Fishlegs said, tapping the device and continuing to work on Hiccup. The phone lifted off the table and over to the twins, who snickered and eagerly opened it. 

"Text from...Astrid," Ruffnut said. "Who's that?" 

"If you'd paid attention to any conversation we'd ever had about Hiccup going up to the city, then you would know that's his roommate," Fishlegs said. 

"'Are you okay?'" Tuffnut read. "Why's she asking that? Where'd you go?" 

"I intercepted her," Hiccup wheezed. "The Deadly Nadder saw me do it, though." 

"So sad," Fishlegs mumbled. 

"So she's worried about you," Ruffnut said, her mouth twisting into a grin. "That's cute." 

"What? No," Hiccup said, clenching his hands in and out of fists. 

"I'll just text her 'yep'," Tuffnut said, stabbing his pointer finger on the phone. "This thing is magic!" They then sent it back over when it vibrated again. "Ooh! Another one! This is fun!" The twins stepped down from the car and sat down next to Hiccup and Fishlegs. "'Then where are you?' she asks. Where is he, sis'?" 

"Where can he go? There's nothing to do!" Ruffnut exclaimed. "Hm. On a nature walk. Sounds good. You're a nature person, right? Well, you are now." They hit send and Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Wow! Fast reply. 'When will you be back?' Uh oh." 

"'Don't worry about me,'" Tuffnut stated. "That'll keep her off your tail for a little." 

"Or will it?" They snickered. 

"Ah, well, I suppose we'll just keep this," Ruffnut said. "You know, keep her busy." They they darted away, snickering.

"Please, at least try and keep my dignity intact!" Hiccup shouted. This effort caused him to cough, foam gathering at the corners of his mouth.

"Easy there," Fishlegs said. "Just hold still. This'll be over quickly."

~

Astrid paced across the apartment, glaring at the random texts Hiccup was sending her. It was like he was trying to stall her and she was five seconds away from frying her phone. Stormfly had been critically injured in the fight with the Night Fury and was resting. She was alive, but Astrid didn't want Hiccup asking questions. Though, with the Night Fury out and about, she was worried. 

She was fairly sure Dagur had gotten him, but Toothless had transformed into that dragon thing and they'd both gotten away. It was just so frustrating at times. 

She looked up as the lock jiggled and Hiccup staggered in, gaunt and sick looking. "What happened?" she gasped. 

"To be honest, I have no idea," he said. "Work emergency. Working at a chemical factory can be risky." 

"Well, if it does that to you, then you should resign!" 

"I like the risk." He stumbled and she ran over to catch him. "I'm fine." Tucker meowed loudly for such a small cat, staring pleadingly at Astrid with large eyes. 

"You need to get to bed," she said. "It's almost midnight." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Actually, it's past midnight." She walked him to his room and helped him onto his bed. He sagged into it, throwing a hand over his stomach. "You're not going to vomit, are you?" 

"Maybe," he said, turning onto his side. "I really just need to sleep." 

"Okay, okay," Astrid said, flicking the light off on her way out. "You do that." She spotted Tucker curl up in the crook of Hiccup's elbow as he turned this way and that, disturbing the cat. "Do you...do you want me to take your cat?" 

"Please," he said. "Let him have a nice rest." Astrid walked back over and retrieved the cat. He mewed sadly as Astrid left the room, stroking his head delicately with one finger. 

"Okay," she said. "Just be quiet and don't stalk my bird." She laid down and set Tucker down. The cat tentatively stepped onto her belly, then turned in a couple circles, kneading briefly. Astrid laughed quietly and Tucker flopped down, purring. His little body vibrated as she ran her fingers over his silky fur. "Do you know what really happened? Heather ran a search of the city. There's no chemical factory anywhere near here." 

Tucker simply mewed again, draping a tiny paw over his nose. She smiled softly, resting her hand softly over his back. "That's okay," she said. "I didn't expect you to know." She rested her head back and stared at the ceiling. "But something is strange about Hiccup Haddock and as guardian of this city, I'm going to find out what."