Heartbroken and in shock, Hiccup didn't speak for the rest of the afternoon, remaining silent on the couch, staring at the wall. Astrid had sat by him, holding his hand and feeling him trembling. She had been shocked by his Mom's devastating pronouncement and the coldness with which she had spoken to him. She knew she would have been utterly crushed if her own Mom had been so distant and hostile...and it seemed Valka's rejection had broken her son. In the end, despite Martin's protestations, Toothless had been bought into the sitting room and had finally got through to the boy by whining pathetically. Hiccup had blinked and finally leaned forward, tousling the ears and sighing.

"Yeah, bud...I guess I just don't deserve to be loved," he murmured and then flinched as Astrid fist firmly met his shoulder.

"You donkey!" she told him shortly. "You are loved!" He shook his head.

"Actually, I don't think I am," he said quietly.

"By me!" she told him firmly and he looked up at her sharply. "By me, Hiccup! I love you!" His emerald eyes widened and he gasped.

"You...you...oh Thor, your father will kill me!" he said quickly. Astrid collapsed on the couch, laughing.

"Technically, he's your father for the next few weeks," she giggled.

"Again creepy in a living-in-the-middle-of-nowhere-marrying-your-sister sort of way," he said sarcastically. "I think my brain may melt getting my head around this. Can I just carry on calling him Mr H?"

"Martin will suffice," the man said, entering the sitting room. "Ingrid told me what happened. Are you okay, son?" he asked. Hiccup stared at him and shook his head.

"No," he admitted. "Not sure I will be for a while either. I...made a promise to protect Mom and I seem to have utterly failed. She's with Alvin...and she won't even see me." He swallowed, his eyes shining with unshed tears. He hadn't wept, just run over the conversation a thousand times, searching for any way he could ever have hoped to reach a different outcome and keep his mother.

"Hiccup, you know you are welcome here with us as long as you want," Martin reassured him. "And I want you to stay. Just...make sure Toothless is back in the kitchen after dinner, okay?" Hiccup nodded with a wan smile.

"Yes, sir," he said as Toothless switched on his puppy eyes and Martin groaned.

"That dog..." he groaned.

"I'll order him to stop being cute, sir," Hiccup said with a small smile. "Though he doesn't really listen to me either."

Martin left the room with a snort, muttering something which sounded very much like 'sounds like a daughter of mine...'

oOo

At the end of the week, the Team was heading for Meathead via the long bridge across the straits. Hiccup had resigned himself to being alone at home on Friday evening as the Team and Cheerleaders headed out-but he was in for a shock on Friday, when Astrid presented him with a small rucksack as they scrambled into Snot's car on the way to school. Hiccup stared at it and investigated, finding a thick packet of sandwiches, a large Berk Vikings Football shirt and traditional horned Viking helmet. His emerald eyes flicked up in shock.

"Um...Astrid?" he asked.

"You're coming," she said firmly.

"I-what?" he exclaimed. She laughed.

"I'm not leaving you behind,"she told him. "Last time I lost sight of you..." She paused and he nodded, hearing the inflection in her voice. She hadn't spoken about it but he knew that she had been horrified at his injuries. And worse...she had heard the whole recording of the beating...

"It's okay," he said. "Um...not sure the team will be overjoyed though...I'm the reason you're down three players..."

"Actually, they're the reason we're down," Snotlout said briskly. "They had a choice. They made the wrong one...and we'll be taking the Junior Team along with us so you won't be the only supporter..." He paused. "In fact, I may make you motivation..." Hiccup sighed.

"Let me guess...do it for the poor crippled kid, right?"

"Hey, whatever works!" Snotlout said cheerily, missing the sarcasm. "That and the fact you're going out with our Cheerleading Captain means you're one of the gang! So after school, come to the bus and we'll go kick some Meathead butt!"

He found himself ridiculously anxious as he arrived at the bus, already changed into his Vikings Football shirt over his clothes-it was so large it was still loose. He wound his scarf around his neck, pulled his coat over the shirt-he would proudly wear it once there...and levered himself on, using his crutches carefully. He couldn't sit with Astrid on the way there, because she and the other Cheerleaders were in conference with cheerleading Coach Bergstrom while Senior Football Coach Rokeby was firing up the team aided by Snotlout, in his full kit. The juniors who were acting as reserves were clustered round the team while Hiccup found himself sitting at the front with Gustav. The younger boy turned his bright grey eyes on the skinny Senior and appraised him thoughtfully.

"So...Astrid Hofferson, hey?" he began with overconfident and unwarranted familiarity. "What's she like? Is she hot?" Hiccup stared at the younger boy for a long moment.

"I'm not answering that because I choose life," he said with a straight face. "And if you intimate I said anything, you will regret it..."

"You don't scare me," Gustav said brashly. Hiccup leaned closer.

"I was called a pest for very good reasons," he murmured. "You think Tuff can prank? I can outprank him on my very worst day. Do you fancy something in your jock strap? Superglue? Deep heat? Sulphuric acid?" Gustav gulped. "Or maybe your water bottle...perhaps Ecstasy? LSD?"

Gustav went pale and silent for about ten miles. Then he piped up again. "But still...why you? I mean...you're...and we're....and she's...." He made gestures at the relevant people and Hiccup's eyebrow quirked up.

"There's a lot of adjectives missing from that sentence," he noted.

"But look at you!" Gustav protested. "I mean...you're a beanpole! And she's scorching! And every guy in the Senior and Junior Teams would give a limb to go out with her...well, except Eret..." Hiccup's ears pricked.

"Why Eret?" he asked. Gustav leaned closer.

"Well, he's gay, isn't he?" he said bluntly. Hiccup's eyes widened in shock.

"What? I never heard that!" he spluttered. "Does Snot know?"

"Actually yes...but no one else," Gustav said, cheerily oblivious. "It's a secret. In fact, I think he's got a thing for Tuff..." Hiccup's mind reeled and he felt a real wave of sympathy for Ruff.

"Is he...?" he asked faintly. Gustav shrugged.

"Not sure," he said. "Maybe..."

"But Eret went out with Savannah..." Hiccup mumbled.

"Camouflage..." Gustav said confidently. "I mean...no one in his right mind would actually go out with Savannah! Rocks are more interesting!" Hiccup rested his head back on the headrest of the seat and sighed.

"Awkward," he mumbled.

"Do you know the chants?" Gustav asked him. Hiccup blinked.

"Um...imagine that until Snoggletog, I would have clawed my eyes out with a fork before coming on this bus..." he said sarcastically. Gustav leaned closer.

"Okay...in that case, consider this a crash course..." he began. Hiccup sighed.

"I reckon I've had far more than my share of crashes recently but anyway...here we go..." he muttered.

oOo

Once they arrived, the bus was surrounded by baying Meathead fans and Hiccup felt a thrill of anxiety...but he knew he was with the Team and coaches...and he was there for Astrid. So he shed his coat, wrapped a Vikings scarf around his usual scarf and jammed the Viking helmet on his head, his unruly auburn hair sticking out wildly under the helmet. Gustav swatted his shoulder.

"We get off first," he hissed as the Junior team surged for the steps. Hiccup followed nimbly, following them to jeers.

"Look-the Hooligans can only round up a cripple for their team..." Hiccup glanced up as the Cheerleaders descended and he turned back to the sneering Meathead.

"Well, I'm Limpy the Viking, the Team mascot," he said sarcastically. "And I'm here because we don't even need to have all four limbs to beat your sorry Meathead asses!" There was a chorus of boos as he grinned at them. "Go VIKINGS!" he added.

"GO VIKINGS!" the Cheerleaders shouted behind him, bouncing up and down and waving their pom poms.

"Way to rile up the crowd, babe," Astrid murmured, winking.

"Just getting them warmed up for you, Milady!" he grinned back. She shook her head.

"B-E-R-K! Go VIKINGS!" she shouted and cartwheeled, cross-crossing with the others as they formed an honour guard. And then the Team sped down the steps, led by Snotlout, his helmet under his arm. He winked to Astrid and nodded to Hiccup, gathering the team round. Tuff came up to Hiccup, his fist raised and the boy cringed back...but Tuff winked.

"Don't leave me hanging, man," he said cheerfully. Hiccup adjusted his crutches and tentatively fist-bumped him.

"Er...cool," he murmured. Tuff winked.

"We'll do our part, Hicc-you just keep shouting for us and backing up the Cheerleaders, okay?" he said. Hiccup nodded, still wary at apparently being accepted. "Limpy the Viking...awesome..." Tuff muttered as he ran off after the rest of the Team.

Hiccup was stationed by the Cheerleaders and coaches and did his best to shout for the Vikings and jeer at the Meatheads. Astrid and her girls danced, tumbled and shouted their throats sore and Hiccup began chants for all the Team.

"Snotlout! Snotlout! Oi! Oi! Oi!" seemed to work really well and inspired the Captain score three times in very quick succession. "Son of an Eret!" "Thorston power!" "Fish! Fish! We need Fish!" also rang around the stadium and Hiccup took to whirling his helmet round on the top of one of his crutches. Gustav was jumping up and down in excitement as the team pulled ten points ahead...and kept on motoring. At the end of the game, it was a crushing fourteen point Viking victory.

The Meathead Team and coaches were gracious in defeat and invited the Vikings to stay for a meal but the weather was forecast to deteriorate so Coach Rokeby thanked them but declined. The guys zoomed back onto the coach and Hiccup was last this time, finding the only unoccupied seat close to the back...but no sign of Astrid. He turned in shock and anxiety...and almost ran into her as she pulled him into the seat by her side. She grinned.

"Well, that went well," she said as she snuggled against him. He wrapped his arm around her and felt her relax against him. "And you were awesome, babe!" He glanced at her. It had been sort of nice to be part of something, instead of sneering from the outside...though he had managed to get in enough snarky comments at the Meatheads to satisfy his sense of sarcasm for the evening.

"Well, you were sensational!" he managed. "I mean...wow! I didn't even know you could bend that way and..." She smirked and kissed him on the cheek.

"I think Snotlout liked his chant," she murmured. "He's been planning to keep it as a war cry for ever..."

"Oh joy," Hiccup muttered. "I may yet be lynched for that..."

"Almost certainly," she smiled. "And the Team responded to hearing their names. It totally fired them up!" He kissed her cheek gently.

"I was supporting you supporting the Team," he admitted. "You are beautiful and amazing and Gods, I felt like the luckiest man there knowing I have the privilege of being your friend..." She stared up into his kind and proud emerald eyes and smiled. "I love you," he murmured. She opened her mouth...then paused and looked up as Eret stood by them. Hiccup glanced up at him and sighed.

"Hi, Eret...um, great-great game..." he murmured. The tall, black-haired football player smiled and leaned close to him.

"Thanks for the chants," he said and sighed. "And I'd appreciate you keeping what Gustav said quiet...he's not the most discreet..." Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Yup, proof, if any, that he is Mini-Snotlout..." he commented. "It's okay, Eret. I kept my own secret for years...until I had to give it up to protect Astrid." Then he paused. "But take the time to talk to Ruff, will you? If she hears it from you, if you're honest with her, it will be kinder." He nodded thoughtfully and clapped Hiccup on the shoulder. He winked.

"Bear it in mind," he said with a grin and went back to the celebrating Team. Astrid nuzzled against him and he wrapped his coat around her.

"What was that about?" she asked tiredly. He smiled and kissed the top of her hair.

"A secret...nothing bad...but I promised to keep it," he admitted. She smiled.

"You're not a bad guy," she murmured snuggling her head into his shoulder.

"I try not to be," he told her and stole another small kiss. "Now rest if you need to, Milady. I'm not going anywhere." She smiled and closed her eyes.

"My favourite pillow," she murmured.