Astrid woke to the sound of quiet sobbing. She almost wished she didn't know what was going on. But unfortunately, she knew exactly.

She turned to her boyfriend; his face was twisted up, with tear tracks illuminated harshly on his cheeks.

Astrid let out a soft sigh. Hiccup had been having nightmares ever since the day his father had died in place of him. From what he told her about them, it was always the same.

Hiccup stood there, unable to move, unable to scream or yell, useless to stop his own damned dragon, no - his best friend, from killing his father. He could see himself, telling his father not to intervene, and his own face full of terror at the fact that Toothless might actually kill him.

Hiccup let out a soft whimper, which made Astrid gently push Hiccup’s sweat-soaked bangs off of his forehead, then moved her hand to wipe at the tears on his cheeks; her movements were just enough to wake him, though she had tried to be gentle.

They looked at each other for a second, before Hiccup’s face started to crumble all over again. Astrid took Hiccup’s head and pulled it to her chest while Hiccup tightly grabbed the back of her shirt, pulling them closer together. Astrid stroked her hands through her boyfriends hair as his breathing turned heavy and forced once again. When she felt her boyfriend start to shake against her, Astrid’s heart broke.

Knowing what to do (because she had done it time after time), Astrid, voice soft, started to sing the song that Valka had taught her. Not surprisingly, Hiccup’s body seemed to relax; his shoulders sagged, his eyes opened, and his breathing slowed. Astrid smiled softly at him, continually stroking his hair.

Head still pressed against Astrid’s chest, Hiccup spoke. “I miss him.” somehow his words, even though spoken softly, seemed to fill the room up. Astrid held her breath for a second, before replying: “I know, Hiccup.” She didn’t say “I’m sorry.” or “We all miss him, too.” because she knew deep down that what Hiccup really needed didn’t lie in the form of spoken words.

I'm still going to pretend that Stoick didn't die, deep in my heart, until I actually see the movie on Sunday.