Birthday present for RTNightmare ! :) I hope you enjoy it, even though I somehow got the prompt wrong (well, what could you expect, under the circumstances you asked me... lol xD). Still, there is gift-exchanging in this one-shot (although I am TERRIBLE at thinking up gifts for ANYONE, so I'm sorry if they suck, haha).

I also may or may not have "borrowed" something from Kumiho-Kitsune... :p

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


Summary: 'Tis the season to be… horny?


From Me To You


Toothless ambled through the Mead Hall happily, freed of his saddle device for the night, shaking his bells-covered fake reindeer antlers at passers-by.

All those who crossed his path would invariably pat him – after all, he was basically the only dragon that stayed around for Snoggletog every year – and feed him little strips of dried cod fish dipped in anchovy sauce. That was his favourite snack, but it always made Toothless thirsty.

He tried sneaking up on his human companion, who sat at one of the long tables casually conversing (and drinking) with his human friends. But Hiccup heard the Night Fury approaching – you could hear the fake antlers ringing across the Mead Hall – and instinctively hid his mug inside his vest.

Toothless warbled in protest, but Hiccup waved an accusing finger at the dragon.

"No no no," Hiccup warned, "Bad dragon. You get waaay to hyper when you drink wine."

Toothless glared at his best friend and huffed, turning his head to smell Tuffnut's cup instead.

"Wait, last time Toothless had apple cider he got really bad gas." Ruffnut whispered to her brother's ear.

Tuffnut nodded and covered his mug, earning a spiteful stare from the Night Fury. Ruffnut mimicked her brother's gesture, if a little more discretely.

"Sorry, but since we also have to put up with you tonight… no gas." Tuffnut said adamantly, waving a denying finger in the air.

Snotlout shattered Toothless' dreams immediately. "No way. This is my rum. Go drink water."

Fishlegs only had mead in his mug, and Toothless didn't care for the taste of fermented barley right now; he wanted something more refined. So he merely shot steam off his nostrils and spared the young Vikings one last scornful look before standing up and walking away on his two hind legs as dramatically as possible.

"Great. I have a bad feeling that he's planning to get back at us for this," Hiccup deadpanned as he watched the Night Fury try to trick people into giving him booze to drink.

Nobody would, though; they pretty much already knew Toothless had to be kept off most known alcoholic beverages for a number of reasons.

Hiccup's hand carried the tankard to his mouth, but as he prepared to take a drink he got slapped in the back so hard he nearly spilled the whole thing on his lap. He turned to see Ásvaldr, Astrid's father, grinning widely at him while patting his back heartily.

"Hiccup!" He greeted cheerily, cheeks brightly coloured by the heat of wine, a large mug dancing in the hand he wasn't using to dislocate Hiccup's shoulder.

"Mister Hofferson!" Hiccup greeted back with equal cheer. By the Gods' good grace, Ásvaldr had grown quite the soft spot for Hiccup as the youngster's relationship with his daughter blossomed.

"You boys havin' fun?"

The group of young Vikings all cheered back and raised their cups enthusiastically, clanking them down on the table with lively verve.

"Ach, Hiccup," Ásvaldr said, placing a solid hand on the young man's shoulder. He looked up dazedly, smiling at the Mead Hall's ceiling beams as if they were a good friend waving at him, "just you wait 'till you see the Snoggletog gift me wife an' I got me Astrid this year."

Hiccup couldn't quite decipher the odd wink Ásvaldr gave him. He figured he better not try to, anyway.

"Speaking of which, where is Astrid? Haven't seen her since this morning," Hiccup wondered out aloud, half to himself and half to his girlfriend's father.

"She'll be coming in any minute now. Night's still young an' – ah, thar she is!"

Hiccup's jaw slacked ever the slightest as a stunning young woman with a loose golden mane appeared through the Great Hall's gates, like some Valkyrie descended from Valhalla come to claim him.

He'd gladly give himself in; she needn't ask twice.

She wore a fur mantle upon her shoulders that covered her back and her arms, but gracefully shrugged it off as she made her way inside.

She was Astrid, he knew, but she looked so different. He hardly ever saw her with loosened hair, and he could not recall the last time he'd seen her in an actual dress. It was a lovely gown by itself, granted, but clinging to her body like that only gave it more grace.

Hiccup sighed without even taking notice of it, burying his chin on his hands as he watched her with riveted eyes. He drank in the details, for he could so easily get lost when observing something that fascinated him this much.

There were four small, loose braids, two on each side of Astrid's head, knotted together at the back. The way the long dress billowed behind her wake seemed to be sweeping his feet off the ground just about as much as it swept the floor.

The dress tightened just so at her waist and flared at her hips, accentuating her figure in all the right places. He loved how the fabric barely covered her shoulders, a strip of it draping down her the back of her arms loosely.

It was the colour of sand on a summer day, embroidered with intricate golden patterns around the neckline and hemline.

It had a cleavage. That dress had a cleavage. There was a cleavage. A cleavage had been spotted. Thor almighty in Midgard up above, a cleavage. Hiccup liked the cleavage very, very much.

Hiccup somehow heard Tuffnut groan as his sister kneed him on the shin, guffawing something about it being rude to stare. Snotlout let out a shameless wolf-whistle into his mug, and the sound resonated with a strange muffled echo.

The Chief's son's eyes landed on his male companions accusingly, in such a way that all three of them – Snotlout included – immediately found much more interest in staring at their tankards. Hiccup had no idea when it was he'd started this, this whole protective thing about Astrid. It was a little absurd, if he thought of it logically. He knew she was his, as he was hers. They were loyal, and if there were to be a change of heart from either of them, there would be very little that could be done.

He didn't feel entitled to anything. Yet, still… he would find himself feeling a little jealous at times. And, at the moment, a little smug.

"I take it ye like it then!" said Ásvaldr, breaking Hiccup's concentration on his stop-eyeing-my-girlfriend-I-swear-to-Odin glare.

"You kids have a good evening! Happy Snoggletog!" he bellowed before mingling back into the crowd, and two dozens of surrounding Vikings sang back the holiday merriment in unison.

Somewhere on the west side of the Great Hall, Toothless casually abandoned the noisy, jingly antlers that ornamented his head and slinked away, unwatched.

By the time Astrid flung herself down on the bench with a groan and a positively bummed-out expression, Hiccup's little moment of unrestrained rapture had already begun to subside. All visions of Astrid as a deity dissipated the moment she rolled out her tongue and threw her head back childishly, as if on a tantrum.

He just had to will himself to stare away from that cleavage – which was as far away from childish as possible.

"Is that wine?" she asked eagerly, her eyes suddenly lighting up the tiniest bit.

"Yeah…" Hiccup began, but was cut off when she mugged the jug from his hands. He watched her warily as she took one gulp, then another for good measure, and why not a third one just in case the others couldn't make their way down.

"Ah, it's good. Mmm," she said approvingly, clicking her tongue and then running it across her lips. Hiccup's head dipped in ever so slightly before he stopped himself; maybe biting her lips in the middle of the Great Hall wasn't the wisest of choices. He decided he'd corner her somewhere less crowded and then make his move.

"My dad got it for me. It's some good wine he got as a peace offering. So, I thought I'd share it with you."

"I'd love a mug, thank you!" She beamed at him expectantly.

"Your wish is my command, Milady. I'll be back in two minutes," Hiccup said, standing up and bowing exaggeratedly to her. She chuckled at the gesture and shoved him to send him on his way.

"Just don't go bewitching any other guys with your charms while I'm gone, you hear me?" He added jokingly.

To which she replied, "Well, I'll try my best… at least until I get bored from waiting!"

Hiccup laughed at their banter and hurried away. When he returned with two full mugs Astrid was chatting away with Ruffnut. Both girls were giggling atypically until they saw him approaching; then Ruffnut got up, smirking, and strolled away from the table in the most conspicuous way possible.

Only Fishlegs and Bulknose, two years their elder, remained at the table a little farther away, engrossed in some conversation about medicinal uses of dragon droppings.

"What was that all about?" Hiccup asked curiously, gesturing his head in Ruffnut's direction.

Ruffnut chose that very same moment to look back, still grinning, with less subtlety than a Gronckle dancing the ballet.

Astrid seized the mug from his hands and took a fourth swallow – to join the party with the other three drinks – again smacking her lips contentedly. She shook her head a little, "None of your business; just girl talk."

Hiccup dropped the topic immediately. There was something weird and scary about the mythic 'girl talk' thing that immediately made him want to just back the Hel off.

He sat down next to her at the table, his free hand placed tenderly upon her bare arm. He looked at her as she observed some children playing apple dive. Astrid was just so… so…

"You look pretty," he blurted out lamely. Of all the poetic words coursing through his head right now that could possibly describe how she looked – some of them unsuitable to be spoken aloud in public, granted – he had to go for that one. Smooth.

"Oh. This?" Astrid glanced down at her dress, seeming unimpressed. "My parents got it as a Snoggletog gift for me… But I guess you like it more than I do."

She threw him a flirty smile and a very specific wiggle of her eyebrows.

"Well, actually…" Hiccup settled his eyes on her and nodded approvingly, as if he were admiring a cute dragon egg. "Yeah, this is a pretty great gift."

"So… would you like to wear it?"

Hiccup shot her a flat look.

"Haha, funny. I think you got me wrong," he deadpanned. He leaned over and whispered into her ear, "you would be the gift. The dress is just the wrapping."

He grinned slyly at the bashful look she now donned; both their cheeks became a matching shade of faint pink. They rubbed shoulders, chuckling amusedly at their carefree, overt flirting.

"Oh, um… Speaking of presents. Here's mine," he said, digging into his vest and pulling out a wrapped parcel for her. "Happy Snoggletog. From me to you."

Astrid bit her lower lip as she unwrapped the gift, and let out a gasp when she saw what it was.

"It's beautiful! Oh, Hiccup… You shouldn't have."

Astrid admired the lovely gift in her hands. It was headband made from fine leather, a little wider than the one she usually wore and by far the most beautiful one she'd ever laid her eyes upon.

It was adorned with shiny, carefully polished gemstones instead of metallic studs. An engraved pattern ran through the length of it, criss-crossing between each stone in an abstract Nordic design.

"These are iridescent opals," Hiccup explained, pointing at the white shimmery ones, "and these are lapis lazuli."

She wondered at the intensely blue stones, patterned with small streaks of gold; then she marvelled at the stunning light-catching effect of the opals.

Astrid pulled Hiccup into a hug, kissing his neck and his ear with enthusiasm as she thanked him.

"So I, uh, take it you like it?"

"Oh," she sighed happily as she once again looked at her present, "I love it. Help me put it on."

Hiccup tied it at the back of her head, under her hair so only the part on the forehead was visible. She laughed and pulled him in for a kiss on the lips.

"It's wonderful, Hiccup. And I've just recently lost one, so this is really convenient, too."

"Ah, about that…" He said, chuckling nervously. "You didn't lose anything. I just kind of borrowed one of your headbands. And, uh, guess I forgot to put it back?"

"What? How did you… but why?" Astrid eyed him suspiciously, still smiling.

"Because I made that headband myself…" he said.

"Oh, that's so sweet of you!" she gushed, her voice unusually pitched. She needed to ease down on the wine… not that Hiccup minded her getting handsy.

"… and I was afraid I wouldn't get the size of your head right," he added quickly, grinning goofily as she gave him a mockingly harsh look.

"Hiccup, are you saying my head is big?"

"Well… it's bigger than mine."

She smacked him playfully on the shoulder, too elated to even bother with a proper comeback.

"It's time for the Snogggletog play!" Stoick announced then, and the couple turned on their seats to fixate their attentions on the stage. Hiccup testily snaked his hands around Astrid's back and pulled her flush against his chest.

He buried his nose in her loose hair and, as discretely as he could, kissed her neck. Her shoulders squirmed as she tilted back ever so slightly, affectionately bumping her head on his.

"Look!" Astrid said, pointing at the children who were climbing onto the stage, "They all look so sweet in their little dragon costumes." But Hiccup wasn't exactly looking at the kids; he was more like taking advantage of his good angle and ogling the much-welcome cleavage with peaked interest.

He had to stop after a while, and focus on his surroundings rather than on the two round, soft objects of his affections; after all, he didn't want his 'peaked interest' cresting too obviously under his trousers.

The couple sat there drinking and chattering idly, watching the theatre unfold, enjoying the animated festivities all around and each other's company.

The Hooligans had eventually learned to cope with the idea of not spending the holidays with their dragons, since they didn't want to disturb the creatures' breeding habits.

To counter their absence, they came up with a new tradition – a very similar festivity, held about two weeks later, to celebrate the return of their dragons and welcome the babies that tagged along. Most babies would grow and leave within few months, but by then they would hold a farewell feast.

Nobody ever said Hooligans didn't like to celebrate things, after all.

Everyone laughed whole-heartedly when Toothless interrupted the play, running all over the place with something in his mouth. A holiday-themed Gobber chased after the Night Fury with an unsteady limp, howling, "Ye come back here with tha' cask, ye hear me?"

They circled around the little stage a couple of times until Toothless bounded up to one of the ceiling beams, holding the barrel safely between his paws. The Night Fury teasingly gurgled his own form of laughter at Hiccup's mentor, who stood looking up and cursing while Toothless downed the whole thing.

He then glided back down with a graceful flap of his wings, but left the barrel on the ceiling just for show.

"Tha' was ma fav'rite rum. It wasn't even halfway through," Gobber slurred sourly as Toothless pranced around him, all but gloating. People patted Gobber's back and offered him their own drinks, in pure Snoggletog spirit.

"I feel like I should be more concerned about my dragon," Hiccup droned, distractedly tapping the rim of his mug with his fingers.

"Toothless is a big dragon. He can take care of himself," said Astrid, clearly amused by the scene.

Hiccup was about to reply; something about Toothless' behaviour… But the thought was yanked from him. Right then he cared less about Toothless' uncanny bout of irresponsibility, and more about the way his girlfriend's hand suddenly found itself snaking up his thigh.

The way she whispered into his ear made him feel quite jittery, and very much inclined to throw discretion out the window.

"So… Want to go someplace quiet and open up your Snoggletog present?"

Hiccup didn't need to voice out his consent; his eyes widened and his lips quirked deviously. He shook his head in a vigorous way that meant he was, by all means, more than ready for a romantic escapade; but still discretely enough that he didn't look like a dog in heat.

"I'll go out first," Astrid said as she stood up, "and you'll follow me after a few minutes. Your house."

Hiccup agreed; after all, his father and the rest of the men would be celebrating until the sun came up, and all the general drinking would make it hard to notice a pair of lustful youths gone amiss…

He could hardly wait. After Astrid left, Hiccup decided to bide his time by walking around casually, waving at people in a mostly random way, trying to seem like he was interacting with someone and keeping himself busy when he was, in fact, just very eager to slip unnoticed out the doors, run to his house and then… and then…

And then Fishlegs bumped into him. Hiccup cursed his bad luck; he was just about to leave the Meade Hall.

"Hiccup, you'd better come quick!" Fishlegs said, sounding preoccupied as he waved his beefy arms in the air, unknowingly blocking Hiccup's path to happiness.

"What? C'mon Fishlegs, not now," Hiccup groaned, "I have other things to –"

"But this is serious!" Fishlegs insisted.

"So am I!" Hiccup snapped back irritably.

"What do you have to do right now that's so important?"

"That's… actually none of your business," Hiccup crossed his arms and scowled at his friend, indicating that he was pretty much done with the conversation.

"Okay, fine. But if you don't come soon, something's gonna –"

There were screams and the sound of something breaking; Hiccup jumped, turning around to seek the source of the startling noises. He immediately saw the column of fire and smoke curl up into the air and begin to reach the ceiling at an alarming pace, filling the air with the smell of burning paper. Some Snoggletog decoration had been set on fire at the very end of the Meade Hall, and it seemed pretty intent in burning away as scandalously as it could.

"By Freyja's teeth and tits… " Hiccup swore as he realized the fire was dangerously close to the mead barrels. He exchanged glances with Fishlegs, who shot him a 'told-you-so' look, and both of them set off running towards the accident area.

– – – – – /\-– – – – –

– – – – – \/ – – – – –

Astrid awoke up with a gentle nudge and, drowsily, opened her heavy eyes. It took her a moment to realize she wasn't sleeping in her own bed. It took her another moment to realize she was in Hiccup's bedroom, being woken by the man himself. It took her a third moment to remember why she was there, and why she'd fallen asleep.

"Ow!" Hiccup grumbled when her fist connected to his arm a little more roughly than usual. "Okay, I guess I deserved that," he conceded, rubbing the affected area.

"What time is it?"

"It's late," Hiccup groaned, flopping down on the bed and unceremoniously flinging his arm around Astrid's waist and dragging her down with him.

"Wait," she protested, albeit half-heartedly, "I'm mad at you. Why are you so late?"

"Please don't be. It wasn't my fault."

She eyed him suspiciously in the dim candlelight, catching the irritated look in his face before he started vigorously rubbing it with his hands.

"You smell like you've been at the forge…" Astrid pointed out, sniffing the air loudly to emphasize her point.

Hiccup held his left arm up to his face and dragged in a large intake of breath. He nodded in agreement, chuckling humourlessly despite himself.

"Long story short, Snotlout thought it was a good idea to challenge Toothless into a rum-drinking contest."

"Oh no."

"And, of course, Toothless won."

"No wonder," Astrid snorted at the all-too-obvious result.

"But by then Snotlout was so wasted he accused Toothless of cheating…"

"Smart move."

"And, you know, people say Toothless didn't really do it on purpose. I mean, they say he kind of… burped," Hiccup said, now flailing his arms around in exasperated motions, like he was trying to paint a picture of what happened.

Astrid's eyebrows rode straight up her forehead and hid under her hair. "So…?"

"Basically, some decoration caught on fire."

"Oh no."

"And the Twins did say they only wanted to help put it out."

"Oh, no."

"But they used rum instead of water."

By now, all Astrid could do was run her hands through her mildly tangled hair, her eyes rolling as far back as possible. Rum was expensive.

"Obviously you can imagine what happened," Hiccup concluded, dismissively waving his left hand as if he'd gotten tired of painting the picture of the events and had decided to smear a big blob of paint on the canvas and just be done with the thing.

"So where's Toothless now?" Astrid asked.

Hiccup glanced at her seriously as he drummed his fingers over his chest. "My dad sent him to sleep it out in the dragon stables… along with the twins and Snotlout."

He noticed Astrid's chin quiver as her lips contracted into a pucker, but she had the decency to refrain from bursting into laughter.

"So now my best friend is in detention, my dad's mad at me even though I didn't set anything on fire, and I'm not getting my Snoggletog present after all… What are you smiling at?" Hiccup asked, annoyed at his girlfriend's gigantic smirk.

"I never said I wouldn't be giving you your present, silly," Astrid cooed, placing her hand tenderly on his shoulder and stroking it gently. She leaned over him, kissing his neck and his chin lightly, then his eyes and his cheeks.

She stopped just near his lips, letting her breath dissolve into his skin like a warm summer breeze. She saw he had his eyes closed as she pulled away, his mouth halfway open in expectation.

He opened just one of his green eyes, languidly searching for her. "What are you doing?"

"Getting your present," she answered matter-of-factly, bending over the side of the bed to grab a parcel she'd hidden underneath it.

"… I thought you were my present?" he asked, torn between confusion and curiosity – plus a sense of mild disappointment. He really wanted to 'unwrap' that dress.

Astrid frowned at him before sitting back on the bed and handing him the bundle.

"What is it?" Hiccup inquired curiously, obliviously sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth while he turned the parcel around in his hands, testing its weight.

"Why don't you try opening it up, dummy?"

"… Right." Hiccup undid the packaging, and what he pulled from within the fabric caught him by surprise. They looked like hands, only made of soft leather and, on the inside, a thin layer of wool.

"What… how?" He asked, flipping them around and looking at them in all sorts of angles.

"You got frostbite that one time you flew off to near Visitnug Territory," Astrid casually explained, "You always say you don't wear mittens because they keep you from holding the saddle properly, so… There. Try them on."

Hiccup didn't know what to say; he slipped his hands inside and gaped at how well they fit, and how warm they were. He moved his fingers around, admiring the effect.

"So now when you go on extra long flights up North, you can keep your hands protected and still have mobility. What do you think?"

"I think I'm not just wearing these for flights," he replied earnestly, chuckling at his leather-fitted hands. "How did you make these, anyway?"

"Wouldn't you like to know!" she teased, elbowing him gently on the sides. Her mother had helped her, granted, but separating the fingers had been Astrid's idea.

Her mother had been educating her in the arts of house-keeping as of late – assuring her daughter that she'd need the skills someday soon – and though Astrid didn't have a finger for cooking, she pretty much had a knack for sewing and stitching… much like her own boyfriend, as her mother was keen on pointing out.

Of course, Astrid would never confess to the fact that she was, by all intents and purposes, being somewhat domesticated. Besides, that wasn't entirely possible anyway, so there was no point in bringing it up.

"Thank you," Hiccup said, pulling her into an embrace. She hugged him back, rubbing her hands over his back as he kissed her forehead repeatedly, tenderly.

"So... You ready for your second gift?" Astrid drew away and turned her back to him. With one hand, she delicately pulled her blonde locks aside, revealing the criss-crossed lace that tied at the back of her dress.

Hiccup understood the implication immediately; the information travelled from his eyes to his brain, then made its way down to his nether regions, where his body replied with a vigorous nod. Yes, Hiccup's body all but vibrated, I am more than ready for my second gift. I am quite overjoyed to be getting a second gift.

"Can I keep these on while we're at it?" he said jokingly, referring to the gloves.

Astrid merely glanced around to cast him an unmistakeable negatory look.

"Okay, you're right…" He waved his hands appeasingly, as if trying to make up for any misdeeds. "It's not like I'll be needing them to keep warm, anyway."


END


Isn't the summary a little deceitful? You were probably expecting some smut or lemon something, but no. I'm literally keeping this under the covers, haha.

Hope you all enjoyed, especially you, Rachel. :)

I kind of didn't have time to re-read this properly, so if any mistakes are spotten feel free to point them to me... and if anyone has any prompts in mind, feel free to drop ideas. I can't guarantee anything, but who knows what might spur my imagination!

Peace out!