Before We Met Again (HTTYD One-Shots)

Evening Nightmare

'Stop! Snap out of it! Toothless, no! Toothless! Stop! Dad, no! '

Hiccup shot up from his bed, breathing heavily. Once his breathing slowed down, he rubbed his face with his hands, removing the sweat from his forehead and pushing back his hair. He turned to his left, seeing Astrid sound asleep.

"At least I didn't wake her up." he whispered to himself. Once he managed to calm down, he lied back down and stared at the ceiling. He knew it would take a while before he could go back to sleep, so he quietly got up from the bed and left the bedroom.

Once he was outside the bedroom door, he let out a big sigh, placing his face in his hands.

"Of all dreams, why that one? " he thought. He made his way to the table, sitting on the chair and staring up at the ceiling.

Suddenly, he heard sobbing and sniffing. He got up, figuring out that the noise was coming from the stairs. As he got closer, he noticed a figure sitting on the stairs, curled up and shaking. Once Hiccup was standing near the stairs, he was surprised and heartbroken to see Nuffink crying while clutching his Deadly Nadder plushie with him.

"Nuffink?" Hiccup said, but Nuffink didn't replied. He carefully placed his hand on him, causing him to turn around and face him. Hiccup felt his heart sank, seeing his 4-year-old son's face drenched in tears.

"Daddy?" Nuffink said, wiping away his tear, but still sniffing.

Hiccup managed to muster a smile at him. "Hey, buddy. What's the matter?" he asked.

It took a while for Nuffink to reply to him as he kept sniffing and his tears kept falling.

"I...I had... a nightmare." he answered between his sniffing. Hiccup sighed before walking up the stairs, picking him up and taking him downstairs, stroking his back along the way. They sat down on a chair, letting Nuffink sit on his lap as he lit up a candle next to them.

"You had a nightmare?" Hiccup asked. Nuffink nodded his head, now a bit calmer. Hiccup took his sleeve and helped wipe his tears.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" he asked. He could see that Nuffink looked unsure about telling his nightmare, fiddling with his plushie.

"Tell you what? If you tell me your nightmare, I'll tell you mine."

Nuffink looked at him with surprise. "You... had a nightmare too?" he asked.

Hiccup nodded. "You'd be surprised. Even grown-ups get nightmare too." With that acknowledgement, Nuffink felt more confident in telling his father his nightmare.

"There was a dragon. He had red skin and had fire all over him."

"Ah, a Monstrous Nightmare." Hiccup corrected him.

"Yeah, a Mon-toous Nightmare." Hiccup chuckled at his pronunciation.

"It was dark, but I could see him." Nuffink continued. "Then... he started to chase me. I ran, but.... I was slow. And.... he got closer...and... he...."

Nuffink started to cry again, prompting Hiccup to cuddle him tightly, shushing him as he rubbed his back.

"It's OK. You don't have to finish the story." he whispered to him. After a while, Nuffink managed to stop crying.

"He was really scary." Nuffink mentioned.

Hiccup nodded. "Yes, Monstrous Nightmare can be scary. But remember, they are also kind dragons, like all the other dragons."

"Uncle Snotlout had a Mons-tos Nightmare, right?" Nuffink mentioned.

"Exactly and they were great friends. So, next time you see a Monstrous Nightmare or any dragon, don't be sacred of them. They probably just as scared as you." he smiled. Nuffink nodded in response before giving him a hug. Hiccup held him tightly, kissing him on the head before letting him go.

"What was your nightmare, daddy?" Nuffink asked. Hiccup looked at him surprisingly, before remembering what he'd promised him and now was unsure about telling him. Not because he didn't want to, but he believed he was still young to know the truth. But he made a promise that he intended to keep.

"I...I was dreaming about Toothless. A long time ago, he... did something terrible. But it wasn't his fault. He was being controlled by an alpha dragon, telling him to... do a terrible thing to me. But instead he... did it... to your grandfather."

"He did something bad to Grandpa Stoick?" Nuffink gasped. Hiccup nodded. "What did he do?" Hiccup was afraid he would ask that. While Nuffink and his daughter, Zephyr knew that Stoick was not around anymore, they didn't know what exactly happened to him.

"He, umm.... I'm sorry, I can't tell you."

"Why not?" he asked disappointingly.

"Because you're too young. But I promise I'll tell you when you are older. OK?" Nuffink nodded in response.

"Alright, then. Do you think you can go back to sleep?" Nuffink nodded with confidence and with that, Hiccup took him to bed before going to bed himself, finally able to fall sleep.