A Whole New World

A/N: This one's for three people: first for my dad, who first told me I ought to do a HTTYD-Aladdin crossover. Second to Cloud4012, who said the same thing. And third to DrabbitDragonLord, who also requested another Disney-Dragons story. Basically, I was too lazy, tired, etc. to actually retell the entire movie with the Dragon characters, but "A Whole New World" is an awesome song and it fit too well for me not to try it.

Since the song works so well, in fact, I've left the background information intentionally vague. You can read this story one of two ways. You can read it as a HTTYD-Aladdin crossover, which is basically what I intended. Or you can also read it as an alternate Romantic Flight scene from the first HTTYD movie. Either way you choose to read it, I hope you enjoy it!

"A Whole New World" from Aladdin © Disney

Astrid wasn't really surprised when Hiccup showed up with that big black dragon of his, but that didn't mean that she was ready to see him, speak to him, or forgive him. She glared up at the boy as he swooped down above the cliff where she was sitting, trying to sort through her muddled, confused thoughts. At least he had the decency to look sheepish, though she could tell he wasn't completely sorry for his actions.

"Hello, Astrid," he said quietly, instructing Toothless to land beside her. She huffed irritably and tried not to show any fear at the sight of the sharp teeth lining the dragon's mouth. Toothless, he'd called it. She'd never seen anything less toothless in all her life.

"Look," Hiccup said with a sigh, "I know things didn't exactly go according to plan back there. I didn't mean to upset you. I'm sorry. Really."

Astrid looked up at him. His expression was soft, gentle, perhaps a little pleading. There was a raw, honest earnestness in his eyes that held her attention. The retort she'd planned on snapping at him died on her tongue. She shook herself mentally and tore her eyes away from his face. Her gaze fell instead on the saddle and stirrups fastened to the dragon's back. She frowned. "What is all that?" she asked, gesturing at the various leather straps and buckles.

Hiccup looked down at the saddle and replied, "Oh, it's a saddle I made for Toothless. See…" He gestured to the dragon's tail. Following the motion, Astrid saw that one of the tailfins was made out of leather, not skin. "When he was shot out of the sky, the bola tore his tailfin off. So I made a prosthetic for him. I control it with the stirrup, like this, see?" He adjusted his left foot, and the tailfin opened slightly. "That way, he can fly like the other dragons. Granted, it means I have to fly with him, but…" He shrugged. "…small price to pay in the long run, I suppose."

Astrid was impressed in spite of herself. She stood up and took a cautious step toward the dragon. It glared at her but made no move to stop her. The meaning was clear: I'm letting you come close because my human likes you. But one wrong move and all bets are off.

"What kind of dragon is he?" she asked, more to distract herself from her nervousness than anything else.

"He's a Night Fury," Hiccup answered with a hint of pride. Again, Astrid was impressed and hated herself for it. Gods, she wasn't usually so easily awed.

"A Night Fury?" she repeated, trying to make her voice sound light and conversational and not the least bit admiring. "They're pretty rare, right?"

"The rarest dragon in the known world," Hiccup confirmed. "No one's even seen one before besides me…and now you."

Astrid returned her gaze to him, frowning slightly. There was an odd note in his voice, a note she couldn't make any sense of.

She understood when Hiccup suddenly asked, as if on a whim, "You, uh…you don't want to go for a ride, do you?"

Astrid gave him a dubious look.

"We could get away from Berk," Hiccup continued quickly, that faintly pleading note entering his voice again, "see the world…"

Astrid hesitated, glancing down at Toothless again. The dragon didn't seem so enthused about letting her on his back, but she knew instinctively he would allow it if his human asked it of him. She wasn't sure whether she should take comfort from that or not. "Is it safe?" she asked, still eyeing the Night Fury warily.

"Sure," Hiccup said easily. "Do you trust me?"

The words brought Astrid up short. She looked sharply up at him. "What?" she breathed.

Hiccup held out his hand, smiling gently. "Do you trust me?"

Astrid stared at him for a moment. Was she imagining it, or was her heart suddenly pounding a hundred times harder in her chest? And why in Thor's name would it be doing that?

Then she slowly smiled. "Yes," she replied, stretching the word out a little and reaching out to take his offered hand.

Grinning in triumph, Hiccup helped her into the saddle behind him. "Hang on tight," he instructed. "We like to go fast."

Astrid looked around and saw that there was nothing to hold on to. Nothing except Hiccup. She didn't really want to do it but saw no other option, so she gingerly wrapped her arms around his narrow body. "All right," she said a little breathlessly. "I'm ready."

"Okay, Toothless," Hiccup said, leaning forward slightly to speak to his dragon. "Go easy, bud."

The dragon snorted and grumbled unintelligibly, and he spread his wings out to the side.

A second later, they were airborne.

Astrid yelped and tightened her grip around Hiccup, who grunted a little irritably. "What part of 'go easy' didn't you understand?" he called up to the dragon. Toothless warbled, and Hiccup sighed. "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile."

Unperturbed, Toothless streaked skyward, leaving Berk behind in seconds. Then he looped around and soared over the island. Astrid gasped in awe. From this angle, bathed in the light of the sunset, the village was absolutely beautiful. "Wow," she gasped.

Hiccup grinned at her obvious delight, glad that she was smiling at last. He directed Toothless a little lower, staying high enough so that they remained unseen but close enough to get a better view. The island was bustling with early-evening activity: shops were closing, friends were meeting in the square, and Vikings were trooping up to the Great Hall for dinner, all unaware that only a few feet above them, a boy and a girl were flying on a dragon.

They flew away from the village, now moving above the uninhabited parts of the island. Trees stretched their branches up toward the sky, leaves rustling in the breeze. Fields were covered in colorful flowers, almost glowing in the late-afternoon sunlight. "It's so beautiful," Astrid murmured to herself, forgetting for a moment that she was seated on the back of a dragon, right behind the boy she'd sworn to hate.

"Mm," Hiccup said by way of agreement. And then, to her utter surprise, he started to sing:

"I can show you the world

Shining, shimmering, splendid

Tell me, Astrid, now when did

You last let your heart decide?"

He directed Toothless toward the ground, and he reached out and grabbed a flower, ripping it from the ground. Turning slightly in the saddle, he handed it over to Astrid, who took it after a second's pause. She wasn't really a flowery kind of girl, but for some reason this little gift touched her in ways she couldn't even begin to fathom.

Hiccup continued singing:

"I can open your eyes

Take you wonder by wonder

Over, sideways, and under

On an ev'ning dragon ride"

Hiccup directed Toothless up, and the dragon shot toward the sky again, leaving the ground behind. Astrid glanced once back over her shoulder to see the island falling quickly away. This time, the rapid ascent didn't bother her. She giggled almost playfully and raised one hand to run her fingers through the clouds. She almost didn't feel them: they were soft, slightly damp, and seemed to almost not exist. Hiccup looked back at her, saw her delight and wonder stamped on her face, and smiled. He adjusted the tailfin, and Toothless soared up right into the clouds, emerging a short time later on the upper side. With the sun setting, the sky was already dark this high up, and with no clouds to block their view, the stars seemed to dance in the night.

Hiccup started on the chorus:

"A whole new world

A new fantastic point of view

No one to tell us no or where to go

Or say we're only dreaming"

He took a breath to continue, but it was Astrid's turn to surprise him. He looked back with wide eyes and raised eyebrows as she started to sing along with the same melody.

"A whole new world

A dazzling place I never knew

But when I'm way up here, it's crystal clear

That now I'm in a whole new world with you"

She reached out and tried to catch some of the clouds as Toothless dove back into the fluffy sea of white below them. The dragon, apparently sensing the girl's change in mood, decided she wasn't so bad after all and crooned happily, spinning around in a tight upward spiral and finishing in a loop that made Astrid laugh with joy as Hiccup echoed her last line: "Now I'm in a whole new world with you…"

As they leveled off, they joined a flock of Terrible Terrors. One of them looked around and squawked in surprise at seeing two humans atop the back of a Night Fury. Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless all ignored them, and Astrid continued singing, raising her voice to a slightly higher key:

"Unbelievable sights

Indescribable feelings"

She let go of Hiccup's body for a moment, and he was momentarily disappointed. But when he glanced back to see why she had done so, he smiled. She had flung her arms out like wings and had her eyes closed. The sensation of weightlessness was overpowering, and her sheer joy bubbled forth in her song.

"Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling

Through an endless diamond sky"

Hiccup directed Toothless to do a variety of stunts as Astrid listed them off, and while the Night Fury's movements made Astrid cling to Hiccup once more, her broad smile didn't falter.

At least, not until Hiccup had Toothless dive down toward the water far below. Emerging from the cloud cover, she suddenly realized that they'd moved away from the shores of Berk and were flying over open ocean. For just a moment, she was afraid again.

Her fear must have been apparent in her voice when she sang the next line: "A whole new world," for Hiccup glanced back at her, concerned, and saw that she had scrunched her eyes shut.

He smiled and gently coaxed, "Don't you dare close your eyes," and she opened them again, her brief fright dispelled as quickly as it had come. They were now flying over the surface of the water, the dragon gliding along, his wings barely moving.

She sang:

"A hundred thousand things to see"

And Hiccup overlapped with her:

"Hold your breath, it gets better"

Astrid continued, her voice a little breathless with delight:

"I'm like a shooting star

I've come so far

I can't go back to where I used to be"

As Hiccup sang out, "A whole new world," Astrid added:

"Every turn a surprise"

Hiccup nodded and contributed, "With new horizons to pursue," and Astrid agreed with:

"Every moment gets better"

Then they both sang together, their voices blending in perfect harmony:

"I'll chase them anywhere

There's time to spare

Let me share this whole new world with you"

Toothless crooned happily at the sound of their voices mingling and working together, but neither of them paid the dragon any mind. They were now totally focused on each other. Hiccup twisted back just slightly so that he could look into Astrid's eyes. They were sparkling in the starlight, two bright sapphire orbs that invited him to fall into their depths forever.

Hiccup sang:

"A whole new world"

And Astrid echoed him:

"A whole new world"

Smiling, Hiccup added:

"That's where we'll be"

And again Astrid repeated:

"That's where we'll be"

Hiccup reached back and tentatively took Astrid's hand. She didn't pull away. Feeling his heart flutter, he sang:

"A thrilling chase"

Astrid, her heart in her throat, added:

"A wondrous place"

And then they both finished:

"For you and me"

Astrid leaned her head against Hiccup's shoulder contentedly as Hiccup directed Toothless to fly in the direction of Berk, intending to return Astrid home. To her mild surprise, she found that she didn't really want this ride to end. This confused her for a moment, but she pushed those thoughts aside and instead settled for simply relaxing, wrapping her arms a little tighter around Hiccup's waist. His heart gave a bound and he felt his cheeks heat up, but she didn't notice.

Maybe I misjudged him after all, Astrid thought as they flew into the night. Maybe there's more to Hiccup than meets the eye.

And maybe there was, but now wasn't the time to dwell on this bewildering development. Now was a time to simply enjoy the ride.