H e a r t b e a t s & Restless Nights.

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III couldn't sleep.

It was dark, but the moon's glow made it easy to see. He always chose the lakeside place where he and Toothless had first connected to come and sit, when he was like this; it was special and it always cleared his thoughts, especially on a beautiful night such as this.

But not tonight. It was like a jumble in his head, a mass in his mind. It made him rub his temples furiously, muttering to himself as he cursed his mind's betrayal. He couldn't even understand it; he felt slightly confused, but he couldn't even figure out about what.

He sighed and turned to face the full moon, bright and clear in the sky; his back now void of the rock it was just resting against, making him shiver against the cold air that came in it's absence.

But then the Viking froze as something touched his back, filling the space where rock once was. Something warm, that felt alive. Someone was with him.

"Relax, it's only me."

The voice made his shoulders slump and he breathed out a relieved laugh. Astrid.
He could feel the warmth from her seeping through into him and he shivered in spite of it. So close...

"Couldn't sleep too, huh?" The teenager forced himself to ask a question before his thoughts got the better of him, but the glow of her was still there, slowly making his heart beat quicker, and quicker, and quicker...

"Yeah." She paused. "...Hiccup." She said his name in an almost questioning tone and he stiffened in surprise and disappointment as he felt her back gone from his. He turned, expecting her to be gone, but she was still there, crystal eyes lit by more than moonlight.

She was more than pretty. He studied her face without meaning to, gaze tracing the perfect outline of her chin, framed by blonde locks falling into place around her face. And her lips...

"Hiccup!" The questioning tone was still there, but it was harsher and brought him out of his haphazard dreamworld of thoughts at once, a light flush dancing across his cheeks.

"A-Astrid. Astrid?" Hiccup paused, green eyes searching her blue ones in the dark. "Is something wrong?"

He saw her begin to shake her head but she seemed to stop, catching herself. He felt worry washing over him and his mouth opened to ask again, but she stopped him.

"I have nightmares. About losing you."

The confusion and seemingly embarrassed feelings were evident in her voice, and then it hit him.
Astrid had nearly lost him, and it had terrified her. Shaken her to the core, gripped her heart with an icy sense of paranoia as she realised how close he had been to dying, saved by the loyalty of a best friend. But he had scars, and they were constant reminders, not only to him, but to her.

"Astrid, I'm fine. I'm here. You don't need to worry..." His attempt at a reassuring sentence trailed off into the shadows as he felt her skin whispering against his, as her hand carefully trailed over his, fingers dancing. Her hint of a saddened smile was barely visible in the moonlight, but he saw it.

"How could I ever forget that you're here, Hiccup. You changed my life."
Her tone was so un-Astridlike that he almost had to double check that it was her, not some other girl who had taken her place.
But then he understood it. It was the side of Astrid that she'd hidden for years, buried under Viking training and upbringing, lost in the raging and stubborn sea that was her warrior side. And only Hiccup could have brought it out; in that moment when they'd sailed with such a beautiful view, and she'd quite happily snuggled closer to him, making his heart beat even faster-

She shivered and his memories faded, being replaced by a wave of worry again. Hiccup sighed.
"Please don't worry, Astrid... I'm really fine now. Seriously. Completely and utterly..."

Her expression made him stop. "However times you say that, I'll still..." Her eyes went from his face down to his chest and then Hiccup jumped as he felt something move the fur of his vest aside, a hand resting just above where his heart beat steadily.

And then he saw her smile again. His heartbeat was ebbing through her fingers and she gained a reassured look, closing her eyes as the thump thump thump got quicker, a reaction to her touch.

Then it happened so quickly that he wasn't sure himself how they ended up in such a position. Her hand resting over his heart and his resting over hers, feeling the beats and entwining them, foreheads touching as their breath mingled together, joining the air as one.
It was a long time before neither of them spoke.

It was Astrid's yawn that broke the spell and she sighed as she pulled away, eyes opening.
"Guess I'm tired again." She mumbled in the aftermath of her yawn, eyes barely working as sleep tried to take them over.

"Hm... Me too." Hiccup only smiled as he watched her and then found his feet, finding her hand and helping her up with him.

The pair silently studied each other for a moment before deciding something to themselves.

Two Vikings in Berk didn't sleep alone that night. One never had nightmares again as she was tucked into the embrace of her boy's arms, and the other always slept deeply and happily, due to her soft breathing echoing through his mind, soothing his thoughts.
And all the while their hearts travelled at the same tune, joining them in harmony in their dreams, together.

Author's Note: Got inspired by a really cute love story called Shiver. It's got absolutely no connection to HTTYD but it's still cute, and there's a sense of description about the love that the boy and girl in it share, which I really like.

I love the idea of Hiccup and Astrid feeling each other's hearts! Such a cute image there. I really would think that the softer side of Astrid would show after the end of HTTYD, because it must have really terrified her to think her Hiccup was dead, poor girl. Thank Thor for the protective Toothless, eh?
Bring on that sequel in 2013, Dreamworks!

I NEED TO FINISH MY OTHER FANFICS. SERIOUSLY.