Happy Snoggletog
The day dawned clear and bright with enough chill in the air to make even the hardiest viking want to curl back under their furs and stay there for a few hours more but not for Astrid, she couldn’t sit still, not on a day like today. The previous night, right before their dragons left for their annual migration, Stoick made an announcement that had the whole village cheering. She should’ve suspected it the first time Stoick walked in on them in the forge. The blonde had been teasing the apprentice mercilessly until he finally pressed her against the wall and kissed her until she couldn’t speak, which was the exact moment his father walked through the door only to scuttle off faster then they had ever seen him move.
That hadn’t been the first time Astrid and Hiccup had kissed, not by a long shot, but it had been the first time since dragons became a permanent fixture on Berk. Sure there had been a couple of quick pecks, all initiated by her, that had been seen by others but that was youth and uncertainty. Their relationship had grown so much since then and the passion of maturity had built. That had been the first time someone had witnessed the intensity of the love they’d built together.
A contract. That had been what Stoick and her aunt had been muttering about in hushed whispers, the reason for the pair to have special, private meetings. They knew Hiccup would take far too long to work up the courage to ask Astrid, in fact the girl was likely to lose patience and demand one first, so they’d taken the matter into their own hands and drafted one for them.
The announcement had been met with cheers, a cause for celebration that even the dragons seemed to understand. The dragon-in-human-form was going to mate the girl-who-fought-like-a-dragon, something that made the dragons very happy. In fact the dragons were expecting the pair to bare hatchlings rather than the pink, hairless things humans seemed to produce.
Stoick had called for their best meade, filling the halls with cheer and merriment. Eventually the call became too much and they gave their dragons a viking farewell. Their companions would return but in the meantime they would celebrate the security of their future for the chief had found his son a bride.
Eventually the blonde sighed, she couldn’t put this off any longer, and joined her aunt to head towards the Haddock hall. To be summoned to the chief’s house was an honour and Astrid would’ve relished it on any other day, but this wasn’t an official summons. She had been called to join a Snoggletog meal as part of her new family, facing her future father-in-law. What she wouldn’t give to be fighting a Whispering Death right now.
Hiccup beat Stoick to the door, giving her a reassuring smile as he took her hand. Stoick’s booming voice greeted the blonde, inviting her to take a seat at the table. Once married she would be expected to serve the meal, something neither she nor Hiccup would enforce, mostly because her cooking was terrible and so Hiccup would most likely be doing the cooking, but for now she was a guest and could enjoy the moment.
"You look amazing." Hiccup muttered softly, making Stoick’s mustache twitch, the only sign he was smiling beneath all that hair. Astrid blushed and muttered her thanks. Her aunt had made her wear a dress today, a blue one that matched her eyes. It wasn’t as comfortable as her leathers and armour but she liked the way Hiccup’s eyes kept flicking to her curves, what little she had of them.
The pair sat in embarrassed silence through most of the meal, much as they had the previous night, the fingers of one hand just touching each other’s. Eventually, after a mug of meade, the pair’s stilted behaviour finally began to flow into their easy companionship and they found themselves unconsciously leaning into each other as they laughed. Stoick sat back, regarding the pair with proud eyes. Astrid was the viking he’d spent most of his life wishing his son was, but now he couldn’t be more glad they had grown up the way they had.
Hiccup had tempered her rash anger, pulling her back just enough to keep her head and stick to logic, and Astrid had stoked a confidence in the boy he hadn’t thought his son had. He was the thinker, willing to look at the problem from every angle and come up with the solution that made the most sense and Astrid beat it into their brains until they understood it. His son was a peace-maker and Astrid was his fiercest and most loyal follower, what he couldn’t talk his way through her axe would. Politically she made a good match for his son but thankfully he had never had to force that decision, not when they were so enamored with each other.
The meal over, they moved to sit around the fire, enjoying the warmth and each other’s company. Hiccup gave Astrid a new set of armour, this time with thick, soft furs to keep her warm. He told her it was because her old set was too small for her but they both saw past it. The only belongings she could take into a marriage were the gifts he gave her and giving her armour meant he had no intention of preventing her from fighting. “I’ll make you an axe for a wedding gift.” The apprentice told her softly, thrilled by the way her eyes lit up. Yep, somehow he’d courted the only woman who reacted to new weapons the way most reacted to jewelery. It was a good thing he was a blacksmith.
Astrid flushed slightly, her ears turning pink as she handed over her own Snoggletog present to her betrothed. Stoick’s eyebrows rose as she handed over what looked like a bunch of shiny rocks but Hiccup’s face broke into the brightest smile he’d ever seen on the boy. “I didn’t know what to get you and none of Trader Johan’s blades seemed right but Gobber pointed out these ores, even told me which ones were good.” Gobber, that old man knew far more than he should, in fact he’d seen the two of them ending up together long before anyone else had. Stoicked nodded in approval, metal ore, that was her gift to Hiccup and by the way his son seemed to switch into inventor mode, the boy was probably already considering all of the ways to make use of his gift.
Another round of meade saw Hiccup reclined in a chair with Astrid curled up in his lap. Standing, Stoick stopped Astrid’s aunt from disturbing their rest. “Let them sleep.” he told her softly, laying a blanket over the pair. “I’ll see to it she’s taken care of. She’s a part of this family now.” Yes, he was proud of his son and his future daughter-in-law, and now all he wanted to do was spend the rest of Snoggletog enjoying having one more person in the house.
Submission by astridthenadderqueen
{{Oh my gods! This is amazing, thank you so much for sending this to me, I wasn't expecting this! Merry Christmas for yesterday sweetie! This is amazing! :D}}