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It was the dead of night, and Hiccup woke up with a start. Not from Toothless jumping on the roof, or from his dad leaving the house. All was silent in the night except for his heart, which beat loudly in his ears. His dreams had been the terrifying kind that night, as had become all too frequent.
In all honesty, Hiccup was glad (in a way) that he and Toothless could only fly at night. It gave him something to do rather than sit in the dark with the same terrible images after a nightmare. If his dad knew Toothless existed he would never let them fly at night, Toothless' nocturnal habits be damned. That night it had been the queen, within the volcano. The second stalactite had just fallen but just before Toothless could destroy the third, her terrible maw came and dragged him into the depths like a jumping shark to a seabird. Hiccup had fallen down, down, down, into the deep fire of the volcano, the last image of the dream being her great eyes, weeping red in their sockets, turning to him as her jaw opened once more.
'It's lucky dads such a deep sleeper' Hiccup thought to himself. He didn't know if he made noises when he dreamed, but he didn't want to lie to his dad about his nightmares if his dad woke him because of them. Or for his dad to know about them at all. He wished Toothless was by his side as soon as he woke up, and he didn't have to trek through the woods first. Wrapping his cloak around himself as he snuck out the window to head to the cove, he tried desperately to shake the ashes of memory from his mind.
It would've been nice to talk about it with someone, to tell his dad and have him wrap him in his arms and tell him it was okay, that the beast was dead and couldn't hurt him. Of course Hiccup knew this, but he just- well it would be nice. But his dad didn't even know the beast had existed, Hiccup had made sure of it, and he was forever thankful he had succeeded. His dad and Berk would never encounter the queen and her devouring jaws, would never behold her mountainous stature. Would never feel the heat of her flame even through the sea. He wouldn't even believe Hiccup if he told, and certainly would be more concerned over Hiccup riding a dragon than the feat of killing one. So it worked out well for everyone, Hiccup could keep flying with Toothless, and his dad would never need to worry about raids or the dragon nest again.
This nights vision hadn't even been that bad, but Toothless could always tell when Hiccup needed cheering up, and came bounding up to him. It was earlier than Hiccup usually appeared, or when Toothless typically came to fetch him if he slept in (till 4am, like a madman) . Both of them were having rough sleeps lately, though Toothless got to enjoy warm-sun naps in the day.
'Good morning bud!" Hiccups' voice was still croaky as he greeted his best friend in the early hour, perhaps slightly subdued compared to usual. One very intense licking session later and thoroughly covered in slobber,(Hiccups protests of 'Come on you know that doesn't wash out!' being thoroughy ignored), Hiccup attached Toothless' prosthetic on and they took off to the sky.
They soared. The winds were good that night, the slightly warmer winds of Approaching-Spring-but-Definitely-Still-Winter carrying them to the clouds without chilling them to the bone. The stars were the only witness to Hiccup and Toothless, and they knew how to keep the failed Fancy-Loop-With-A-Twist to themselves. Norðrljós glowed purple-blue-green, banishing the memories of the Queens red fire. The pair dove through open skies with no approaching rocks to dodge or firing arrows to avoid or chasing dragons mad with rage. It was just them, and they were free.
Hiccup had, however, only slept a few hours that night, and so Toothless took them back to the cove far earlier than he would have liked.
(Toothless argued that he would like Hiccup to not pass out on his back and fall off. He had nightmares of that night too, of diving into the fires after his boy, and missing. Or of the Queens mighty body crushing him completely, smearing red from them both across the beach. Or of his boy bleeding out of the beach, his body hounded by bloodied beaks, Toothless unable to protect it. The bad-humans-with-nets throwing him back into the sea and taking Hiccup away. Toothless was grateful he had his friend to fly with, for a dragon should never fly weighted with worries and a burden shared was a burden halved.)
Toothless walked into their makeshift den in the cove where Hiccup could take off his prosthetic, his hands scratching over his scales in all the right spots. Purring softly, Toothless curled up for a nap, opening his wings. A single green eye remained locked with Hiccups, expectant.
So, even though the dawn light was teasing the horizon, a breathtaking view as always on Berk, that Hiccup had seen many of lately, he settled down for a nap beneath his best friends wings, cosy and safe in their embrace.