Category: Gen (Canon)
Characters/Pairings: Hiccup
Ratings/Warnings: K; tears may be shed
Word Count: 350
Prompt: "Nostalgia"
Author's Note: Inspired by some beautiful fanart created by rocketssurgery on Tumblr. (rocketssurgery [d0t] tumblr [d0t] com/post/93278175613)

Someday, One Day...

The climb was becoming difficult.

He'd never admit it, of course. He was a Viking, and Vikings—well, they had their stubbornness issues.

His old leg could throb all it wanted: he wasn't about to stop. He'd hiked that cliff for almost longer than he could remember—every day, he hiked, rain or shine—and if there was one thing he could admit, it was that he'd probably drag himself out of his deathbed if it meant he could make that climb just one more time.

Someday, he would remind himself, I might not have to climb into the sky alone.

Astrid often wondered why he didn't go to his other place—their place—but he'd only shake his head. It was their place for a reason.

One day…I might just return to our cove.

There was a worn trail leading up to the tallest precipice on Berk, and he would walk it diligently, ignoring all his aches and pains. Upon reaching the top, he'd look out over the world and see no boundary between sea and sky. He'd see the sea stacks, crooked and tall, spearing the clouds. Sometimes, he'd see sea birds diving for fish, and he'd smile wistfully.

Limitless. Exhilarating.

Someday...

He'd close his eyes and spread his arms, toes curled over the very edge. The wind would kiss his face, brine would coat his lips, and his hair would whip around him. Sometimes, he'd whoop and laugh and cry, and if he swayed with the music of the sea and sky just right, he'd no longer feel the land beneath his feet.

He'd fly.

The magic never left when he finally opened his eyes, and the ever-present burn in his heart would ease, if only until the next day.

One day…

Eventually, Hiccup would turn his back to the sky and sea, and without fail, he'd look at his mismatched feet, remember the other half of the pair, and murmur, "I miss you, bud."

There were dragons when he was a boy, you see, and someday, one day, he'd fly with his best friend again. (1)

(1) Adapted from the quote "There were dragons when I was a boy." (How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Crowell)