Just something I thought of while daydreaming.
Hiccup for some reason could not sleep. He did not understand why, but he was having that problem nonetheless.
He just could not get comfortable. Every time he got into one position, he would get restless and shift slightly and then he had to get completely resituated. He tossed and turned from his left side to the right. His hands fidgeted with the covers.
After what seemed like the hundredth time of tossing, he lay flat on his back and stared up at the ceiling, trying his hardest not to move. He took deep breaths and shut his eyes. He concentrated on thinking about how tired he was, how heavy his body was, how soft the pillow felt, how cozy the bed was.
But it did not work. Opening his eyes, Hiccup sighed defeatedly. Okay, this isn't working.
This was perfectly ridiculous. How could falling asleep be so hard? Insomnia was just stupid. And what was worse than that, there was nothing. There were no sounds but the absolute deafening silence of night. Not a creature was stirring, not one Viking, not one dragon, not even a Terrible Terror which sometimes squeaked out into the dark of night. Whether the little reptiles were trying to contact their other winged friends for a nocturnal conversation or enjoyed hearing their own echoes or maliciously trying to annoy the snoring Vikings, you would never know.
But of course, they were snoozing, and Hiccup had to be the only one to not get any sleep. He turned onto his side again and glanced at the window. Several hours would have to pass before the sun even dared to come up and show its beaming face.
So what was he supposed to do? It was blatantly clear that he was not going to sleep anytime within the hour.
Suddenly, he became aware of the steady snoring of a certain Night Fury on the other side of the room. Hiccup pushed himself up. There was Toothless, curled up on his stone bed, fast asleep. Hiccup bit his lip, hesitant. Hiccup opened then closed his mouth. Should he? Would Toothless be irritated with him?
Finally making up his mind, after a few tries, Hiccup hissed, "Toothless?"
Toothless purred drowsily, his eyes flickering open. Slowly, he lifted his head up and glanced at Hiccup, wondering what was the matter.
"Uh, I, uh, I can't sleep."
Toothless crooned apologetically. After a moment's pause, he cooed, turning his head up towards the opening in the roof.
Hiccup followed his gaze. "Go flying? Right now?" He thought about it for a moment, then he pushed back the covers. "You know what? Why not?"
Hiccup slipped on his riding vest with the criss-crossing leather straps. He fastened on Toothless' saddle and tail, then he hopped onto his dragon's back.
Toothless spread his wings, and they took off. They zipped up through the night mist to the dark, night clouds. Hiccup felt the moisture and crisp night wind on his face, but he did not care. To him, it felt amazing.
After all, man was not meant to fly. They had watched creatures of the sky soar through the air, seemingly weightless, yearning to do the same, yet it was deemed impossible. The sky was a world that man would never reach. And now, being able to do what had been thought impossible for hundreds and hundreds of years, it was so freeing, and for Hiccup, no number of weeks, months, or years, would ever make that feeling fade.
Toothless flew up and passed through the light cloud cover. Hiccup looked up and the dark blue dome filled with a myriad of glittery milky-white and topaz stars. They twinkled and sparkled in ecstasy, dancing with silent, still mirth, floating high in the endless heavens. A pale crescent moon shone brightly. Then, stretching across the night sky were the emerald and violent waves, rippling like the currents of the sea. Hiccup gasped in quiet awe, and Toothless smiled gummily up at him.
Then the Night Fury flapped his wings hard. He spun around and turned up and down as if he were jumping on the cloudy hills. Hiccup laughed and let out a whoop. Toothless zoomed through a puffy cloud. Hiccup shivered as the water droplets chilled his skin, but he did not care.
Toothless dived down to the ebony waters. Hiccup looked down to see the rippling sea below sparkling and reflecting back the pale light of the moon and stars. Toothless dipped the end of his left wing onto the surface, letting it trail across the aqueous surface before they slowly drifted back up to the stars.
Hiccup closed his eyes, letting himself be immersed in the cold wind whipping through his hair and past him, calming his restless soul. He stared back up at the blue dome while the night shone in all its silent, wondrous splendor.
"It's beautiful," Hiccup whispered. "All of it."
Toothless grinned up at his rider. Feeling better?
Hiccup returned the grin and petted the Night Fury. "Yeah. I am. I'd be lying if I said I was eager to be on the ground again."
Even then, you've got your head in the clouds, Toothless crooned jokingly, and Hiccup responded with an eyeroll of admittance.
"Well, down there I've been all my life. But here…" Hiccup made a grand sweeping gesture to the fiery stars above them. "It's like opening up a new world you didn't even know existed." He sighed and shook his head to the side slightly. "It's truly awesome."
Toothless cooed quietly in agreement. Losing an ability for a while that you have had all your life can really give you a new appreciation of it.
After a brief silence, Hiccup spoke again. "You know… I think I'd like to do this every night. Whaddya think, bud?"
Toothless growled in excitement and affirmation.
"Yeah, I was hoping you'd say that," Hiccup smiled.
The two friends drifted further from Berk under the pale, calm light of the moon and stars.