Work Text:
He ran through the house, through every room and every hallway. Knocking down decor and slamming doors. No matter what he did he couldn't find a way out.
He was getting chased, by something, he wasn't sure what. He didn't want to stick around long enough to get a good look.
Down the stairs and to the kitchen, dishes broke, water spilled, he slipped. Unfortunately, he landed on broken glass, he picked himself up, bruised and bleeding, and booked it to the door. It was locked.
He couldn't open it, the locks wouldn't budge. The thing was getting closer. He ran into the living room, and then back up the stairs.
He screamed for help, knocking on everyone's doors, but not one person answered. He screamed as he was pinned up against a door, the thing slowly approaching him.
In the dark, he couldn't get a good look, but it was big, its eyes glowed red, and its hands had sharp nails. He couldn't breathe, the room was spinning, and he was panicking.
He screamed and screamed and just as the thing was about to come close enough to get him, he woke up.
“Hiccup!” Tuffnut screamed as he shook him, Hiccup shot up and a scream left his lips. He clutched his chest and looked around the room.
“Just breathe man, you're okay,” Tuffnut tried to soothe. The small lamp on his bedside table had been turned on, and Tuffnut was sitting beside him on the bed looking horrified, nonetheless, he still rubbed his back in soothing circles.
Hiccup felt tears well up in his eyes and he couldn't hold them back, he started sobbing. “Hiccup, what's wrong? What's happening?,” Tuffnut asked, panic evident in his voice.
He pulled Hiccup into a hug and rocked side to side with him in his arms. Trying to remember what he and Ruff used to do for each other when they had nightmares, they shared a room up until they left their parents' house.
“It—it was chasing me!” Hiccup said through breaths. “What was chasing you?” Tuffnut asked, “I don't know—something!” Hiccup cried.
“Okay, okay, just breathe, you're okay now, nothing's going to hurt you,” Tuffnut tried his best. He rested his head on top of Hiccups and continued rocking back and forth.
This seemed to help a lot, Hiccup rested his head on Tuffnuts chest and focused on catching his breath. He was safe, Tuffnut was holding him, and there was no sign of that thing anywhere.
Toothless came up to him and nuzzled him, Hiccup petted him, hands shaking, but the soft feeling of his fur made him feel like everything was going to be okay.
It was rare for Hiccup and Tuffnut to be holding each other like this, but not unusual. Tuffnut often had nightmares, and Hiccup often broke down from stress, hugs and cuddling were how they helped each other, it was one of the only ways they knew how.
“Do you need anything?” Tuffnut asked, Hiccup thought for a moment, he didn't want Tuffnut to leave his side, but he would like some water. Tuffnut would probably come back and sleep in the bed with him tonight though, after that, there was no way Tuffnut was leaving him to sleep by himself.
“Maybe some water?” Hiccup asked, Tuffnut nodded, “I'll bring you some tissues too, you're covered in snot,” he said, only half joking.
Hiccup picked up his head from where it was lying on Tuffnuts chest, “Am I?” he asked, wiping his tears with his sleeves. “Uh yeah, pretty much,” Tuffnut said looking at him.
Hiccup sighed, and continued petting Toothless. “I'll be right back, you have Belch and Toothless to protect you from monsters while I'm gone,” Tuffnut joked, getting up and heading towards the door.
“Yeah I doubt Belch is gonna be able to protect me much,” Hiccup said, looking at the snake sleeping peacefully in his enclosure.
“You haven't seen him mad, he’ll eat whatever monster was chasing you in one bite,” Tuffnut said as he left to fetch what Hiccup needed.
Hiccup shook his head at him, but it was an affectionate gesture, not an annoyed one. He was grateful he got stuck with Tuffnut as his roommate.
Sharing a room with one of the girls wasn't an option, neither of them wanted to share with a guy and the twins were tired of sharing a room anyway.
Snotlout is his cousin, but he can't share a space with him. They have very different personalities and very different hobbies, it just wouldn't go well. Also, it's Snotlout.
Fishlegs was his second choice, but he liked to keep things neat and organized, and Hiccup just could not do that. When he got stressed he did not care how messy his room got. It was functional? Then that's all that mattered.
Which left him with Tuffnut. While he and Tuffnut had different aesthetics, different hobbies, they worked well with each other. Tuffnut was more than willing to let Hiccup put up whatever decorations he wanted, as long as he also got to put up some of his own.
He also didn't mind when the room got messy, he contributed to the mess. Of course, it would get to a point and they would both work together to clean it. (with only a few complaints from Tuff)
They've gotten very close to each other, almost like brothers, and they know how to help each other, and what the other might need when going through something.
Toothless purred in Hiccups' lap, and Hiccups' thoughts switched back to his dream while he petted him.
What was that thing that was chasing him? Why was it chasing him? What did it want? So many questions that he didn't have the answer to. This was the first time he had ever had a nightmare like that.
It felt too real, like he was going to wake up one day and find it to be a reality, and he didn't like the sound of that.
Tuffnut walked through the door and he was pulled away from his thoughts. He holds a black water bottle in one hand, filled with ice water, and a box of tissues in the other.
“Your water bottle is really heavy, you definitely need a smaller one,” Tuffnut said, handing him his water.
Hiccup raised an eyebrow, taking his water bottle from Tuff. “It's not that heavy,” he said before taking a drink.
“Yes, it is,” Tuffnut argued, he placed the box of tissues on Hiccup's side table and Hiccup grabbed one, wiping his face.
Tuffnut sat beside him on the bed, waiting for him to be done drinking his water. When he was done, Hiccup handed it to him and Tuffnut set it down on the table.
“You wanna talk about it?” Tuffnut asked, unusually serious, “Not really…I just want to be able to sleep,” Hiccup sighed, he was exhausted from today and he just wanted to rest.
“Well don't worry, I'll protect you from nightmares,” Tuffnut grabbed the remote to put the TV on, he put on a random YouTube video, and then turned off the lamp.
“Some light might help, the darkness and the abyss is basically a welcome sign for horrifying dreams,” Tuffnut joked, “Yeah, I guess you're right,” Hiccup said as he yawned.
He and Tuffnut lay down and he allowed Tuffnut to pull him close, Toothless settled down at the end of the bed and Tuffnut pulled the blanket over them both.
He played with Hiccup's hair and rubbed his back until he fell asleep, and only then did he allow himself to drift off.