Nightmares:
"You sure move around a lot, don't you?" Hiccup groaned as Astrid pulled the covers off of him and wrapped them around herself. Because her family was out of town, she had asked if she could spend the night with him. Unfortunately, he'd made the mistake of not only agreeing to it, but allowing her to share his bed.
"Sorry. I just have a hard time getting to sleep." She tossed some of the blanket over him, then cuddled into his side.
Smiling, he wrapped an arm around her. "Now this is perfect for sleeping. We both have blankets, we're keeping each other warm...do you think it could stay this way?"
"Maybe." She shrugged. "I mean, I'd love to be able to just snuggle like this, but..."
"But what? Tell me what's wrong."
Astrid sighed and laid her head on his chest. "Alright. But you gotta promise not to tell anyone."
"I promise."
"Not my family, not your dad, not our friends, not -"
"I won't say anything. Your secret will be safe with me."
She took a deep breath. "I have bad dreams. A lot. To the point where I'm exhausted, yet scared to fall asleep. But no one else can know I'm a sissy who's afraid of something that's not even real."
"It's not being a sissy. Everyone has fears."
"But I just feel weak. Every time it happens, I wake up crying, and Vikings aren't supposed to cry."
"It's okay," Hiccup reassured. "And I'll tell you what. If you wake up from a bad dream, you can wake me up if you need to talk. If not, you're allowed to just hold onto me if you need to, whether I'm asleep or not."
Nodding in acknowledgement, she closed her eyes, a smile spreading across her face as she felt him tucking the covers around her.
...
Astrid's eyes shot open. She had just seen a terrifying thing. A poisonous dragon, covered in burning stones instead of scales, running through the island and killing everything in its path. Hiccup had been trying to drive it out to sea, but in the process, it had wounded Toothless, causing the pair to crash and die in flames. Whimpering, she quickly moved over, expecting Hiccup to be there for her to cuddle up to. However, she was only met with empty bed space. The dream couldn't be real, it just couldn't. She tried to calm herself, but it only resulted in her heart beating faster and panic searing through her body. "Hiccup!" she shouted.
"Down here, Astrid," came a groggy voice from the floor. "You kicked me off the bed in your sleep a while ago."
"I-I-" Tears began to fall from her eyes as she watched Hiccup climb back in next to her. Throwing her arms around his neck, she buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed.
"It'll be okay," he reassured, hugging her waist.
After settling down to a few sniffles, she broke the embrace. "I-I want water. And a handkerchief."
"Toothless, go get her what she needs," Hiccup commanded. He would've gone himself, but then he would've needed to go through the trouble of fastening on his metal leg, as he couldn't walk without it.
The dark dragon who was sleeping in the corner opened his eyes and, letting out a purr, sat up.
"Go get Astrid water and a handkerchief," he commanded again.
Toothless obeyed. When he returned, Astrid gulped down the water and wiped her nose and eyes. "I won't be able to go back to sleep for a while."
"Here, about we just lie down and talk, and maybe eventually, you'll feel comfortable enough to sleep again." He leaned back against his pillow and held out his arms for her to snuggle into.
