Someday
Her eyes fluttered open and she stared at the sloped wooden roof. She breathed in deeply and rubbed her eyes. She jumped when she heard a scream, most likely what had awakened her. The screaming continued, and Astrid came to the sad conclusion that they belonged to Hiccup. She got out of bed and tip-toed to the hallway. She tried her best to not step on any creaky floor boards when she heard someone else in the hall. Astrid turned around to see Valka.
"It's okay, Valka. I'll help him tonight." She said.
"Are you sure?" Valka asked. Her own features showed sorrow and concern. Astrid reassured her with a smile.
"Yes, good night Valka."
"Goodnight."
Astrid continued down the short hall and downstairs. She stopped short when she saw Hiccup tangled in his blanket, thrashing around while screaming. She scurried over and grabbed his hand, while placing her other hand on his sweaty fore-head.
"Shhh. Hiccup." She said gently. "Hiccup?" After doing this a few times with a gentle shake he woke up.
"Astrid?" He croaked.
"Yes. It's okay, you were just having a nightmare." Astrid said as she studied his face. His mouth was held firm into a grimace and his jaw was clenched tightly. He breathed rapidly as sweat trickled down his face. But what caught her attention the most were his emerald eyes. They held fear, tragedy, sorrow and terror. His eyes flicked to her face and those things seemed to fade, just a little.
It'd been two weeks since the defeat of Drago. Two weeks since Astrid's family was blown to bits. Two weeks since Berk lost it's Chief. Two weeks since Hiccup lost his father. Two weeks since he became their new Chief. But still, Astrid had never heard him have a nightmare. Almost every other night, he would comfort her after her own nightmares. She knew he had them too, but never as bad to where he screamed. After all the times he'd comforted her, it was her turn.
"But it wasn't a nightmare. It never is. It's always that same thing playing over and over and over and over again. No matter what I do, it never changes. Every single time, he dies. Every time, I know what's going to happen, but I can't stop it. It all still happens right before my eyes. Every… every time." Hiccup said, as he began to cry. "It's just torture."
Astrid put her arms under his and hugged him to her. He cried into her shoulder, and mumbled things that she couldn't understand. Astrid knew what he'd said was true, for the same kind of nightmares plagued her. It was pure torture.
After a while, Hiccup got quieter. He lifted his head and put a hand on her shoulder. He used his other hand to wipe off his face the best he could. He ended up using a corner of his blanket. He cleared his throat and looked at her.
"Thanks. I-I'm sorry I woke you up. What- how?" Hiccup started.
"You were screaming in your sleep. I heard you and I knew I had to come down." Astrid explained, purposely leaving out the part that his mother heard too. Hiccup winced and looked down.
"Sorry." He whispered.
"It's alright. It's like you said, we'll get through this together." Astrid said. Hiccup lifted his eyes to look at her and smiled.
"Thanks again." He pulled her into a hug. "I love you."
"I love you too." She said seriously, relaxing against him and willing her own tears not to fall. Hiccup leaned his face down and moved some hair out of her face. He chastely kissed her on the lips before resting her head on his chest. Like the first night she had had a night mare and every time after, she let his breathing soothe her. It eventually lulled her into sleep.
For them, the battle was still being waged. But together, they'd win it. There is no stopping them.
….
Valka still could not fall asleep, even after a full hour since her son stopped screaming. She moaned before she flung off the covers and crept as quietly as could be downstairs. Her face softened immediately once she saw Astrid leaning against Hiccup, both of them sound asleep. A much more peaceful look was on their features than last she'd seen them both the previous night.
Valka picked up the blanket off the floor. She placed it over them, trying not to wake them. She knew that they were honest and pure, and she knew that they needed each other to get through this.
"Goodnight, guys. I know we can all pull through this. Someday." She whispered, before creeping back up-stairs.
That was just the peace-of-mind Valka needed to allow herself to sleep. Where she could dream of good days and nights, without nightmares.
Someday they'd get there. Someday.
A/N
Hi guys! Due to popularity, which I was surprised by, I decided to make this a two-shot! :D This was really fun to write! AGH! The feels! And angst, don't leave out my favorite buddy angst!
Well, I hope you all have a 'fan'tastic day! ;) Some of you will get that joke, some of you won't. And if you don't, you'll probably be going, "Ohhhh!" in about an hour or so. Lol, :D
Sorry, that my updating for other stories has been slow, REALLY SLOW. But the kids I babysit every day and almost ALL day keep me on my toes! And I had writer's block recently, so that doesn't help! :)
Vibrant Wings: Thanks! Glad you liked it!
Guest: SWEET! I'm so glad that you appreciate that! Although they fall asleep like they did in this one, I made sure that I pointed out what was happening. They were hugging and they are so tired and then the next minute they're snoring. Mom comes in and smiles, knows their integrity and allows them to heal each other. :) I hope that you liked this chapter!
God bless you all!
~Annanarra
