Bedtime:
Hiccup and Astrid Haddock - the newest married couple on Berk - settled down in bed, ready to be refreshed by a good, long sleep after a busy beginning half of the week. First, they had had their wedding, which they had not slept properly since, for they had been too busy enjoying the intimacy they now got to share together at night. Then, during the day, he was still getting used to his new duties as chief, and she was occupied with trying to improve her less than decent cooking skills so she and her new husband could eat edible meals. As a result of all this, the two of them would not actually be asleep at the same time, but rather would take turns napping. Now, however, they were finally settling into their routines and were - for the first time - getting comfortable in bed together for nothing besides innocent sleep.
"Good-night, darling," Hiccup murmured, leaning over to softly stroke Astrid's cheek and kiss her lips. "I love you."
She smiled. "Love you too, babe. Good-night."
Silence fell over the room as they both closed their eyes and snuggled against each other. It was going to be a blissful night - or so they thought.
Just as Hiccup was beginning to drift off, he felt the covers being tugged from him. His eyelids cracked open to see Astrid completely cocooned from the bottom of her chin to the tips of her toes in the fur blanket. "Astrid?"
Obviously not fully awake, she simply groaned and rolled back over to him, her head resting on the spot of his arm just below his shoulder and her nose grazing the side of his chest.
"Astrid, darling," he prompted, gently shaking her. When she looked at him with half-glazed eyes, he asked, "Could I have my arm back? And could you please share the covers?"
"Too...cold..." she muttered, cuddling further into him.
"Hey, I'm kinda cold, too. Let me in." He yanked the corner of the blanket away from her, only to have her slap his hand.
"Too...cold..." she insisted again, curling herself so that her feet were pinning down his legs. Her face disappeared underneath the furs, though the weight of her head was still on his arm. As she pressed harder against him, he began to feel himself being shoved towards the edge of the bed.
"Astrid!" he shouted.
"What?" She pulled the blanket off her face, now completely awoken and thoroughly irritated at her slumber being interrupted.
"I can't sleep. First of all, you're hogging our covers, and secondly, you're pushing me off the bed."
"I'm not doing it to annoy you, dumbhead. I'm just so cold and you're so warm and the blanket feels cozy and anyway, I can't control what I do in my sleep and -"
He smiled at her rambling whilst he pressed a finger to her lips. "Calm down, milady. It's okay. Now, what about this: we can share the covers and both wrap up in it like you are. That way, each of us can be comfortable and we'll still have the blanket blocking the outside air."
"Alright." She shrugged, but made no move to hand over any of the furs.
"Aren't you gonna let me in?"
"You let yourself in."
After some pulling, Hiccup finally broke through the covers and reached the point where he could settle in comfortably beside her.
She laid her head in the crook of his neck as her nose - chapped due to riding her dragon home through the incoming snowstorm - brushed against his skin. Her shaking figure lay half on top of his and her arms hugged his middle, leaving him little room to shift around.
"Could you lighten up the death grip a bit?"
No response.
"Astrid?"
Still nothing. He placed his hand on her back, which was covered only by a thin nightgown, and felt her body slowly rise and fall to the rhythm of her steady breathing. Evidentially, she had already fallen back asleep.
Sighing, he tried to relax, but no sooner had he resigned himself to the fact that he would need to rest pinned onto his back that night did Astrid begin to move, her icy toes kicking his one remaining ankle and her right hand moving up to rest neatly across his face.
He decided not to wake her again and instead, struggled to move her arm so he could breathe without her chilly palm half-suffocating him.
"Babe?" Her eyes opened.
"I'm just moving you a bit so I don't die. You're a very clingy sleeper, darling, and it's starting to kill me...literally."
From what he could make out in the darkness of the room, she looked genuinely hurt as she rolled off his body and turned away from him.
"Hey, it's fine. I'll just go see if I can dig up another blanket."
"If you're leaving me to sleep on the couch, I'm gonna punch you so hard," she muttered against the pillow.
"Of course not. I meant just a second one so we can...you know...each have one to curl up in. That way, we can both get some good rest tonight."
"If you say so."
Hiccup touched his lips to her hair before climbing off the edge of the bed and attaching his metal leg. After making his way into the spare bedroom, he rummaged around until he located a small stack of covers. He selected one that appeared to be especially thick, then returned to his own room. "Here, Astrid, you take this one. It looks a little warmer. I'll have yours."
"Thanks." She quickly switched blankets and waited impatiently as her husband crawled back onto the mattress and settled in. No sooner than when his head hit the pillow did she press into him, her cheek resting on his chest and her loose blonde locks gently grazing his face.
"Hey," he whispered. When Astrid lifted her head, he made two kissing sounds, signaling that he wanted another kiss before they fell asleep.
She leaned up and, resting her forehead against his, obliged. As they pulled away, she nuzzled her nose with his in a few short Eskimo kisses.
Smiling, he pulled his arms out from under his blanket and wrapped them around her. Once she was nestled back onto his chest and her eyes were closed, he brushed a few gentle fingers over her eyelids before pressing kisses there. "You have sweet dreams, love."
"If you don't stop with the stupid pet names, I'll attack you in my sleep again," she muttered. Although she did like when he called her 'milady,' and the nickname 'darling' had grown on her, she did not want any more terms of endearment used toward her; it just wasn't her style to savor sweet language. Instead, she preferred him to share his love for her through emotional support and physical affection.
"Fine, then." He twisted to the side, her head still against his chest, and buried his face into her hair. "See you in the morning, grumpy."
She attempted to elbow him through the covers before letting out an exasperated sigh and growing still, finally allowing the both of them to drift off into a deep, peaceful slumber.
